


Under the Moon's Curse

by dark_brohood, marvlymelon



Series: Ad Astra [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Bisexual Ginny Weasley, Bisexual Harry Potter, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Character, Goes Through the Years, Gryffindor, Hogwarts, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts Second Year, Hogwarts Third Year, How Do I Tag, Hufflepuff, Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ravenclaw, Slow Burn, Slytherin, Slytherin Pride, Slytherin Ron Weasley, The Golden Trio, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), Werewolf, lycanthropy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23857429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark_brohood/pseuds/dark_brohood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvlymelon/pseuds/marvlymelon
Summary: Cursed with lycanthropy, Dahlia Oakwood didn't think she would ever be able to go to Hogwarts like the rest of her family. But when the letter comes, she can't wait for the adventures that await her.Her entire life changes when she meets Harry Potter, and gets sucked into the craziness that surrounds him. Joined by Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Seamus Finnegan, her life is placed on a path she could never dream, with obstacles and lessons that will change her life forever.~ Goes through Years 1 - 3 ~ Tags will be updates as I write ~
Relationships: Neville Longbottom/Original Female Character(s), Seamus Finnigan/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Ad Astra [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723108
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! Hi!
> 
> If this looks familiar, this is a rewrite of a fic I deleted a couple days ago, because I thought I lost it, but I didn't. I decided to rewrite it though because I have improved since I first wrote this fic (which was a couple days ago lol).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

It was a cool morning as Dahlia sat on the shingles of her home, staring out as the sun rose over the distant mountains. Devon was quiet in the mornings, and on clear days like this, she could see the home of the Weasleys a couple hills away. She could see the small pinprick of someone flying around the multi-tiered house, though from the distance she couldn't tell who. The breeze flitted through her unbound hair as she breathed in the morning freshness, savouring the smell of the morning dew on the grass surrounding the farmhouse.

She liked to sit in the early morning and watch the sunset. Her parents had tried to stop her when she first started when she was four, but there was no stopping her. The colours that saturated the world in the early morning hours filled her heart with beauty, and distracted her from the reality of her life.

The window next to her opened, and her younger brother's head poked through. Watching her stare at the horizon, he climbed onto the shingles next to her, closing the window, and leaning his back against the third floor wall.

"Hey," he said.

She pressed her cheek against her knee, her legs pulled to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. "Hi, Conrad."

He looked at the sky, swathed in oranges, blues, and violets. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and Dahlia glanced over to see his hair now mirroring the sky, his now open eyes mini suns.

Sometimes, she really liked his metamorphmagus abilities. Most times, when he used them to annoy her, she hated them. But this was one of the times she liked it.

He liked to join her on the shingles morning after the full moon and change his hair to match the sky. This day was no different. She always marvelled at how considerate he was, something he got from their father.

"You're going to Hogwarts this year," Conrad said, breaking the silence between them. "Can't wait until I go. Two more years yet." He tapped on the tiles below them with his fingernail, a nervous tick he did whenever he breached a subject he was uncomfortable with.

"I'm not going to Hogwarts," she told him, the sun starting to crest over the horizon.

"You don't know that," he said, pulling his knees up under his chin. "Ayden doesn't have his Hogwarts letter yet. You could still get one."

"Yeah, but he's not a werewolf," she told him. "I am."

"Hogwarts has been around for a thousand years, you're not going to be the first werewolf to attend. It's statistically improbable."

"You're not Ayden, don't get smart on me."

He smirked, extending one of his legs. "Maybe I'll be a Ravenclaw like him and mum. You don't know if I won't."

"Yeah, well, until you get Sorted, don't act smarter than them."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she smiled at him. He was good at diffusing the anger in conversations, making them lighthearted. Dahlia knew he wouldn't be anything but a Hufflepuff; just like their dad.

She wondered where she'd be, if she did end up going. Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff? Or maybe Gryffindor or Slytherin? She wasn't sure. She never let herself get her hopes up, in the likely chance she'd never get to go because of what she was. If only she hadn't wandered into the woods that night three years ago. If only she had listened to her parents and stayed inside.

The sun now above the horizon, the sky a brilliant blue dotted with white fluffy clouds, the two siblings climbed through the window and into Dahlia's room, and waited for the rest of the family to wake up. Dahlia moved to the large shelf that took up one of her walls--something her mother had insisted they put in each of the kids' rooms--and pulled out one of the muggle books Ayden had gotten her. It was something one of his friends from his years at muggle school read and enjoyed.  _ Good Omens _ by Terry Pratchet. She hadn't had the time to read it yet, but she was looking forward to it.

Conrad lounged on her bed and flicked through a copy of Ayden's first year Transfigurations book, having always been interested in the subject. His plan was to become the new Transfigurations Professor at Hogwarts, once Professor McGonagall finally retired. Either that, or go to another wizarding school and teach there. Though he was only nine, and his interests changed every day. Just the week before, he had wanted to learn herbology, so their parents gave him their old textbooks from their days at Hogwarts, but he was back to Transfigurations two days later, and they were glad they didn't spend money.

Dahlia placed  _ Good Omens  _ back on the shelf and decided to follow her brother's example and pulled out one of the many old Potions books that littered the large shelf, and turned it to her favourite potion-- _ Felix Felicis _ , also known as Liquid Luck. It gave its drinker incredible luck, and made them successful in most things.

It wasn't like she could actually make the potions she read about, though. She was eleven. She'd made one or two first-year potions, helped by her mother, but that was it. So, she resigned to just reading about it, and never actually touching it.

Every member of the Oakwood family had a special interest, though all of them liked Quidditch. Ayden was obsessed with Charms, being the best in his year because of how hard he studied it, and he had been reading about it since he was five years old. Dahlia loved Potions. Conrad read nothing but Transfigurations books (apart from the ones he had to read for the nearby muggle school he attended). Their father, Rowland, worked at the ministry of Magic as an Auror, and had since graduated from Hogwarts. Their mother, Isabela, worked at St Mungo's always wanting to help heal people. And the youngest of them all, six year old Mallory Oakwood, loved Herbology, and had a section in the garden just for her. She was the reason Conrad had wanted some Herbology books the week before, but didn't have the flair Mallory did.

The morning progressed, and Dahlia heard Mallory jumping up and down on the floor above them, like she did every morning when she awoke. The teachers at her primary school wanted their parents to get her tested for ADHD, but they didn't know how to do that. And if she was diagnosed, they wouldn't be able to get her medication to her when she was at Hogwarts. At least, that's from what Dahlia had overheard Rowland and Isabela say.

Dahlia and Conrad made their way downstairs as Ayden poked his head out of his room, his hair a mess from sleep, and yelled up to Mallory to stop jumping. It was something he did most days, but not all the time. The days he didn't, he was too tired. Rowland was already hovering over the stove, making pancakes for everyone. He asked them to set the table, and they did, then eagerly waited for the pancakes to be ready. As he finished making them, Ayden, Mallory, and Isabela trickled downstairs, all in various states of dishevelment. Ayden still had his bedhead. Mallory was only wearing one sock. Isabela was looking like she always did--immaculate, despite having four rowdy children.

Rowland placed the pancakes down in the middle of the table, and everyone dug in. It was a nice breakfast, with everyone having their toppings of choice on their pancakes. And then an owl landed on the perch outside and tapped on the closed window with its foot, waiting to be let in.

"Mail's here," Mallory said through a mouthful of pancakes and strawberries.

Rowland stood up and moved over to the window, pushing it open, and the owl hopped in. In its beak were two letters. It dropped them unceremoniously on the table it was standing on, then raised its head and squawked up at him, obviously waiting for something.

Isabela stood up and grabbed the small bowl of water they used for the messenger owls and placed it on the table next to the owl, and it slurped up the water gratefully. When it was done, it stuck its leg out and squawked again, and she put in a copper Knut. The owl squawked a third time before turning around and flying out of the house.

"You spoil the owls," Rowland said as he closed the window and latched it shut, then picked up the letters.

"There's no use being mean to animals, Rowland," she told him, sitting down in her chair and taking a bit of her maple syrup coated pancake.

Rowland smiled at her before she looked down at the letters. He made his way over to where Dahlia was sitting, spilling an entire spoon of sugar onto her orange juice-soaked pancakes, and held one of the letters in front of her face, reaching down from above.

It took her a second to realise what she was looking at. She blinked at it, confused as to why he had shoved a letter into her face, and then she read what the envelope said:  _ Miss D Oakwood, 14 Sidmouth Road, Ottery St Catchpole, Devon _ . She blinked at it again.

"This is for me?" she asked, taking it from him, extremely confused. She didn't know anyone to get mail from, especially in the wizarding world.

He hummed. "Turn it around."

She did, and her heart stopped.

On the other side, pressed into a wax seal, was the crest of Hogwarts.

She let out a choked sob and covered her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. With shaky hands, she pulled open the wax seal and pulled out two pieces of neatly folded parchment as Rowland gave Ayden his letter. Opening the thinner of the two parchment pieces, she read through tears:

**_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ **

**_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_ **

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_ **

_ Dear Miss Oakwood, _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_ Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. _

_ Yours Sincerely, _

**_Minerva McGonagall_ **

**_Deputy Headmistress_ **

She dropped the letter and envelope and started sobbing into her hands, so happy she couldn't contain it. Isabela picked up the letter and wrapped her daughter in a hug, and read what it said. She couldn't contain her grin as her daughter wrapped her arms around her, burying her face in her torso. She'd have to change her shirt, but she didn't mind. Her daughter was happy beyond her ever knowing.

She pulled back and grabbed the letter from Isabela, sniffling as tears continued to run down her cheeks. A grin spread across her face, as she read the letter over and over again, not believing that it was actually there in her hands. She felt as if any moment she would wake up, and Ayden's letter would come, but hers wouldn't.

But it was  _ in her hands _ . It was  _ real _ . She would be going to Hogwarts with her brother, go to the same school as her parents, the same school as thousands of other witches and wizards. And Albus Dumbledore was letting her.

"It's going to be so fun with you there," Ayden said, grinning through blueberry pancakes. "But if you're in any house that isn't Ravenclaw, I'm disowning you."

She let out a laugh, high pitched and hysterical from her crying, and moved to hug her brother. He patted her on the head awkwardly, never really being one for hugs, and chuckled nervously.

"Hugging!" Mallory shouted, and pounced out of her chair and onto the two of them.

Dahlia laughed at her younger sister and messed her hair up. She pouted, and climbed onto Ayden's lap so she could give them a proper hug. She wrapped her arms around their necks and pulled them in, green eyes wide with happiness.

"I'll go to Hogwarts with you too!" she cried out, letting them go.

"In five years," Conrad told her.

She sent a glare over at him, causing everyone to laugh.

Dahlia wiped her tears out of her eyes and sniffed again. "So, when are we going to Diagon Alley?"

Rowland laughed and messed her hair up. She swatted him away, a smile on her face. "Not until after your birthday. I'm swamped at the Ministry right now, but I promise, it will be a fun day out for the family, and we can get some ice cream."

Mallory's eyes lit up. "Ice cream!"

"You know you're going to have to give her ice cream now, right?" Isabela asked, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

Mallory chanted, "Ice cream! Ice cream!" as Dahlia looked at her Hogwarts letter once again, excited for the adventures that awaited her.


	2. Chapter 2

It was hot as Dahlia stood outside the Leaky Cauldron with her family, list of supplies needed held tightly in her hand. Over the past couple weeks, she had been reading it over and over again, comparing it to what Ayden needed for school, and made herself a wishlist of the things she wanted as well. Not like her parents would buy her anything on it, but she could dream.

"Right," Rowland shouted over the noise of the many witches and wizards that had chosen to shop in Diagon Alley that day. "Gringotts first."

They made their way through the throng of people, the many colourful shops sporting many different wizarding goods popping out at them, sometimes literally, while others fizzled and banged. A large crowd of people were gathering around Flourish & Blotts, all needing the textbooks for their children to attend Hogwarts that year. Dahlia was sure they were leaving that to last.

They got to Gringotts, the marble building towering over everything around it. A goblin let them inside, the bank a lot less crowded than outside. They walked down a long, large corridor, lined on either side with a hundred goblins doing paperwork, some of them looking up to stare at them as they passed. They got to the end, and one of the goblins looked up at them.

We'd like to access the Oakwood vault," Isabela said.

The goblin looked between her and Rowland. "Does one of you have the key?"

Rowland produced the key out of one of his robe's pockets and handed it to the goblin.

"Follow me," he said.

Rowland followed him, but Isabela stayed behind with the kids. About twenty minutes later they were back, and they turned to leave Gringotts. But halfway out of the very large building they ran into a very large man with a big bushy beard, a scrawny looking boy with black hair and glasses standing next to him, looking like a dwarf next to the man.

"Hagrid," Isabela said, her face lined up.

"Well, if it ain't Isabela an' Rowlan'. Wha' 'ave you two bin up ter these past years?" the man, Hagrid, said, almost chuckling. His voice was deep, and reverbed around the building loudly.

"Not much," Rowland said. "We're shopping to get Dahlia's school supplies. It's her first year."

"Ah, then yer'll be in the same year as Harry 'ere," he said, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Like Harry Potter," Mallory said, grinning.

"The very same."

Dahlia's eyes widened as her mouth fell open. Rowland smacked her lightly on the shoulder, causing her to close her mouth with an audible _click_.

Harry looked at them sheepishly, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well, we don't want to keep you," Rowland said. "We've got a lot of shopping to do."

"See you at school," Dahlia told Harry.

He nodded. "You, too."

They left Gringotts.

As soon as they did, Dahlia couldn't contain her excitement anymore and started a high-pitch squealing. "I met Harry Potter! I'm going to go to school with _Harry Potter!_ "

Isabela chuckled at her daughter's antics. "I hope you don't act like that in front of him."

"I won't," she said, trying hard to control herself, but failing miserably.

"We should get your wand first," Rowland said, changing the subject. "I'm sure you've been wanting that the most."

Dahlia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes. Please, please, _please_ can I get my wand first?"

He chuckled. "Of course, sweetheart."

They made their way through the crowd and found themselves in front of the small, squat storefront that was Ollivanders. It was grey and dreary, but Dahlia could tell it was loved.

Dahlia entered with Isabela, the others choosing the stay outside as to not crowd the small shop. And it was small--the waiting area was tiny, the rest of the shop being dominated by rows upon rows of shelves, each one piled high to the ceiling with wand boxes. An old man stood behind the counter, handing a long, thin box to a boy with blonde hair, a giddy grin on his face. His mother paid, and the two left the store.

"Good afternoon," the old man, likely Mr Ollivander, said, smiling at them. His voice was soft, softer than Dahlia thought it would be. He looked over at Isabela. "Miss Prewett, it's good to see you again. How has your wand treated you?"

"Good," she said, "and it's still in perfect condition. I'm here to get my daughter, Dahlia, her first wand." She placed her hand on Dahlia's shoulder, and she smiled widely.

"Ah," he said, slowly. "A first wand is a marvellous thing. Sometimes, matches can last an entire lifetime. A wand always chooses its witch, and if it can't, then it's not very useful to the witch, is it?"

Dahlia let out a sigh of relief. She thought she was going to have to choose one of the thousands of wands in the shop. But no, the wand will choose her, and she was perfectly okay with that."

My Ollivander flicked his wand, and a long, silvery tape measure flew up from the desk and started measuring different parts of her--shoulder to fingertip, waist to ankle, around her wrist--as he spoke. "What is your wand arm?"

"Left," she told him as the measuring tape measured her armpit to floor.

The tape measure kept measuring, until he said, "That will do," and it landed in a pile back on the desk. And then he flitted around the shop, grabbing seemingly random boxes off of shelves, using his wand to get some of the higher ones, until he had a large pile in his arms. He came back to the desk and placed them on the old wood top.

He opened the first one and pulled the wand out, made of an orangey-brown wood, and help it out for Dahlia, handle first. "Acacia and unicorn hair, twelve and a half inches, supple. Give it a go."

Dahlia grasped the handle for not even a second before it was pulled out of her hand, and Mr Ollivander put it back in the box, muttering something about it not being the right one. He gave her another wand, this one a pale wood. "Larch wood with Dragon Heartstring core, eleven inches, and a stiff flexibility."

She held the handle, and he pulled it back again, replacing it with an applewood wand with a phoenix feather core wand, and then a holly wand with a dragon heartstring core. Over and over, with a hornbeam and a sycamore and then another larch. A pile started to grow on the table, and someone else had walked in with their child wanting their first wand.

He handed another one to her, a pine wand with a phoenix feather core, thirteen and three-quarter inches long, and pliant. As she held the handle, she felt a warmth spread out of her, and the top of the wand burst out in a shower of white sparks.

He smiled at her. "Ah, yes. A very mysterious wand for a very mysterious person. Very good at nonverbal magic, and is a great wand at learning new things."

Isabela paid for the wand, and they left the shop, Dahlia's new wand tightly secured in its box in her hand. She didn't want to let go of it ever.

They headed to _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ next to get both Dahlia and Ayden robes, as he had a growth-spurt over the summer. It was a quaint shop, with several witches inside flitting around, pinning clothes onto young witches and wizards. Rowland and Isabela decided to get them some ice cream while they got their robes fitted, and left the two of them in the shop alone as Harry Potter left with Hagrid.

One of the witches, a young witch in a light green robe and red hair pulled back in a french braid, took Ayden aside, and he asked for new Ravenclaw robes. Madam Malkin, whose name was embroidered on her mauve robe, set her up next to a platinum blonde boy with a snide look on his face, and asked her what she wanted. She told the older witch she was starting at Hogwarts, and Madam Malkin draped her in a robe and told her to step into a skirt.

"So, you're going to Hogwarts?" the boy asked. His voice was just as snobbish as his face.

She nodded.

"Me too. I'm Draco Malfoy. What house are you hoping for? I'm going to be a Slytherin, my whole family is."

"Dahlia Oakwood," she told him. "And, I don't know. My dad was a Hufflepuff, my mum and brother are both Ravenclaws, and my mum's family are all Gryffindors."

He turned his nose up. "Ugh, _Gryffindors_. They're always so high and mighty, always thinking they're better than everyone. My father says they're so petty they put a yardstick on top of their tower so it would be the tallest tower in Hogwarts. Can you believe them?"

She chuckled at the thought of several students trying to get a yardstick on top of their tower. "That's actually pretty funny. It definitely sounds like Gryffindor."

He hummed, his nose scrunching up. "Do you play Quidditch? I'm going to drag my parents off to go look at racing brooms. It's a shame first-years can't play for the teams."

"My entire family is obsessed with Quidditch. I'm hoping to make the team next year, but I'm not sure what position. And I guess they do it for safety. It's a dangerous game."

He hummed again, like he hadn't thought about that. The witch that was attending to him told him he was done.

He hoped off his stool and turned to her. "I'll see you at Hogwarts?"

She nodded, smiling. "See you there."

He smiled back, though it looked like he hadn't smiled in a while, and left the shop.

Rowland and Isabela came back carrying ice cream in their hands, Conrad and Mallory trailing behind them covered in ice cream themselves, just as the witches were done with Dahlia and Ayden. Isabela paid, and handed the ice cream to her children. She watched as they greedily devoured them as they headed over to the potions supply store.

They wandered around Diagon Alley for the rest of the afternoon, collecting Ayden and Dahlia's school supplies. Once they had finished, they sat inside the Leaky Cauldron and had an early dinner, with Dahlia sulking because she wasn't allowed to bring an animal with her. Her parents told her she could next year, but still pouted over her fish and chips.

That night, back in their house in Ottery St Catchpole, Dahlia flicked through her textbooks as she laid on her bed, too excited to go to sleep. She held her wand in her hand as she read, pretending she was reading via the _lumos_ spell, a grin on her face.

When Conrad came to her room to return her new Transfigurations textbook, he found her asleep on top of her Astrology book, her wand dangling from her fingertips.


	3. Chapter 3

The night before Dahlia was set to go to Hogwarts, she couldn't sleep. All the nervous and excited energy coalesced inside of her, and no matter how much she tried to sleep, she couldn't. When she finally fell to sleep because of exhaustion, she dreamed of what life at Hogwarts would be like, and all the friends she would make.

She got up as the sun did and climbed out of her window to watch it. Mallory watched it with her from her window, excited for her sister but bummed she wouldn't be going with her.

After watching the sunrise, Dahlia triple-checked her trunk to make sure she had everything, then pulled everything out and did it again. By the time everyone had gotten up, she had checked it ten times, too excited to sit still for a second and just rest. That morning, Rowland made pancakes as Isabela checked to make sure Dahlia and Ayden had everything packed in their trunks, and that Ayden's owl, Kiki, was secured properly in her cage.

On their way out the door, Isabela stopped Dahlia as Rowland floated her and Ayden's trunks out to the car, and stepped them both to the side.

"Now, Professor Dumbledore knows of your predicament," she told her daughter. "Apparently there's been a werewolf there before. He knows how to handle it. He's owled your father and I and he said he'll send a prefect of whatever house you get sorted into to bring you to him to sort everything out. Okay?"

Dahlia's mind whirled as he nodded, taking in the new information. There had been a werewolf at Hogwarts before? ?Who was it? How long ago did they attend Hogwarts? Would she be able to meet them?

She was herded to the car, and they started the four hour journey to King's Cross Station.

After many hours of the four siblings playing in the back of the seven-seater car, they got to the station. Rowland piled Ayden and Dahlia's trunks onto the trolleys, then placed Kiki's cage on top of his son's trunk. He then led the way into the station, headed for Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

They got to Platforms Nine and Ten, and loitered around the wall between them as the muggles mingled around them. After making sure none of them were paying attention, Isabela motioned Dahlia forward, her trolley pointed right at the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten. She took a deep breath, her heart thumping in her chest, and ran at the wall.

She didn't hit it. Instead, she went straight through it, stopping before she hit another wall. She pushed her trolley out of the way of the barrier and into the crowd as noises assaulted her ears, hundreds of witches and wizards standing around, dropping their children off to go to Hogwarts, all of them saying teary goodbyes, as they wouldn't see their children until Christmas break at least.

Ayden appeared next to her, and then the rest of her family. They made their way through the dense crowd and towards the scarlet coloured Hogwarts Express that'll take the Hogwarts students to their school. They loaded their trunks onto the train, with Kiki being placed in the owl compartment, though she didn't seem happy about it, and they were pulled into hugs by their parents.

"We're going to miss you," Isabela said as she hugged her daughter. "Both of you. You better write."

"We will, Mum," Ayden told her, currently in one of his father's bear hugs.

Conrad pouted at them as they boarded the train, his hair turning green. Mallory was jumping up and down and waving at them, a grin on her face as Molly Weasley came up next to them, her gaggle of children following her.

Dahlia's heart was thudding in her throat as she boarded the train, making her way through the many students that were also making their way onto the train. Ayden found one of his friends, and left with her to the compartment with all his other friends, leaving Dahlia alone. But that was fine by her, she didn't want to shadow her brother everywhere.

She found an empty compartment and settled in one of the window seats, fingers tracing the patterns in the worn out leather of the seat, staring out the window. She stood up and leaned out of the window, waving and shouting goodbye at her parents and her siblings that were saying goodbye. Mallory continued jumping up and down, and Conrad changed his hair colour to a bright red to match Ginny Weasley's.

Dahlia sat back in her seat and pulled her notebook and a pencil out of her robes. She opened it to a half-finished drawing of the Hufflepuff crest, and continued drawing it from memory, trying to pass the time until the train left and she could stare out at the rolling hills of England.

She didn't get much time, though, before the door to the compartment opened, and a boy poked his head in.

"Hi," he said in an Irish lilt. "Can I sit here with you?"

She nodded, smiling, and he entered, closing the door behind him. He sat down across from her, and looked out the window. He seemed nervous.

Dahlia decided he couldn't be more nervous than her, and placed her notebook down next to her. "Hi. I'm Dahlia Oakwood."

"Seamus Finnegan," he said, his hazel eyes moving to the notebook Dahlia had put down. "What's that?"

"Oh, just some drawings," she said. "It calms me down when I'm nervous."

He smiled at her. "I get nervous too, sometimes. My mum has told me all about Hogwarts. She was a Gryffindor. I hope to be there too."

"All of my cousins are Gryffindors," Dahlia told him, "but my mum and brother are Ravenclaws and my dad is a Hufflepuff. I don't know where I'm going to end up. It hope it's somewhere with family."

They were silent for a couple minutes. Dahlia hadn't really met any new people since she became a werewolf, since her parents had pulled her out of Muggle school, so she wasn't really sure what to say or do. Seamus didn't look like he knew either.

"So, uh, both your parents are magic?" Seamus asked.

Dahlia nodded. "I'm a pureblood. What about you?"

"My mum's a witch, my dad's a Muggle. It was a shock for him when he found out about magic."

"That's cool."

The train hissed beneath them, and looking out the window they started to see the station moving. They stuck their heads out the window and waved goodbye to their families, then settled back into their seats.

As they did, the door to the compartment opened again, and two boys stuck their heads inside.

"Hey, can we sit with you guys? All the other compartments are either full or have older years in them," the one on the left, a pale Welsh boy, said."

They let them enter, and they introduced themselves. The Welsh boy was Briar Grace, a Muggleborn who had learned about magic two months ago, and the other boy, who had dark skin and spoke with a London accent, was Dean Thomas.

The first hour of the train ride they talked about where they were from. Seamus was from Dublin, but they had recently moved to Sussex. Briar was originally from Cardiff, but moved to London when he was eight. Dean was from London, and had never left the city.

Briar had brought a packet of cards to play with in case he made friends on the train, and he pulled them out so they could play Go Fish, which led to Seamus showing him his exploding snap cards. They played with those as the countryside rolled past the windows, until there was a knock on the compartment door, and a portly witch opened the door and asked them if they wanted anything off the trolley she was pushing.

Dahlia bought a handful of chocolate frogs, some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and several boxes of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, piling them on the seat between her and Briar.

She was chewing on some blowing gum when the door opened and Ayden leaned against it, a smirk on his face.

"So, you've made some friends," he said. "Good for you."

"Aren't you supposed to be harassing Oliver Wood?" Dahlia asked him, throwing him a chocolate frog.

He caught it and stuffed it in his pocket. "I was, but the twins released Lee's tarantula into our compartment. By the way, have you seen a toad hopping around? There's a boy wandering the train looking for one he lost."

They all shook their heads, and he shrugged. "Well, tell me if you do. See you at school."

He closed the compartment door and left.

"Who was that?" Dean asked.

"My brother, Ayden," Dahlia said. "He's a fourth year, and a Ravenclaw."

They nodded, and went back to their sweets and exploding snap.

Dahlia spent the rest of the train ride either staring out the window or playing one of the many games Briar knew. He introduced her and Seamus to a game called chopsticks, where they had to hit each others fingers and put away a hand once it hit five or more fingers. He also introduced everyone to a card game called Fast Patience, but Dahlia couldn't really get the hang of it.

As the sun set, Dahlia stood in the corridor of the train as the boys got dressed into their robes, and then they switched so she could get changed. She let them back in and they played a game of Go Fish using Seamus's deck of exploding snap cards. They all stared out of the window, though, as the train stopped at Hogsmeade Station, the sun long since set, all of them hoping to get a glimpse of Hogwarts in the darkness outside.

They climbed out of the train, the hundreds of students going over to where many carriages awaited them. Dahlia was about to follow them when she heard the loud shouting of Hagrid.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years, over here! All right there, Harry?"

She grabbed Seamus by the wrist and dragged him over to the giant of a man, as he was about to head off with a Hufflepuff to a carriage.

"C'mon, follow me--any more firs-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

Hagrid led them down a well-trodden path through a thick dense forest, trees pressing against them on either side. They slipped and stumbled on the damp earth beneath their feet, Dahlia keeping a tight hold on Seamus's wrist so she wouldn't lose her footing.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid said from the front, "jus' round this bend here."

Ahead of them, there were a lot of 'ooh's' and 'aah's'.

The path opened wide, only a sandy beach that edged a massive lake. But Dahlia wasn't looking at the lake. She was staring, mouth and eyes wide, at the large castle that sat atop a mountain next to the lake, its many turrets and towers gleaming with pinpricks of light. It was the largest building she had ever seen, and she doubted she'd ever see anything bigger in her life.

No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid told everyone, motioning to the many boats that lined in her life.

Briar held a boat still as Dahlia, Seamus, and Dean climbed into it, before climbing into it humself. Dahlia couldn't keep her grin off her face as her heart beat against her ribcage and her eyes welled with tears, as Hagrid ordered the boats forward. They moved by themselves, propelled by magic, gliding over the surface of the black lake. She peered over the sides and stared into the water. She had heard about a giant squid being in the lake. She hoped it was true.

She giggled with Seamus as he placed his hands on her shoulder, just as excited as she was. The boats glided closer and closer to the castle, until they sailed _under_ it, into a passageway that ended with a dock. They climbed out onto the rocks.

"Oy, you there!" Hagrid said, motioning to a blonde boy that looked like he was crying. "Is this yer toad?"

He held up a toad, and the boy's face broke out in happiness. "Trevor!"

Hagrid gave the boy the toad, and led them all down a passageway made out of stone, all the way to a huge oak door at the top of a set of stairs.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

After making sure everyone was there, and the boy still had had his toad, Hagrid turned around and knocked on the wooden door.


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened immediately, startling Dahlia. A tall, black-haired witch stood in an emerald robe and matching pointed witches hat, her lips pursed as she stared at the new students standing in front of her. She came across as someone not to cross, and Dahlia took it to heart.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She opened the door, showing everyone the Entrance Hall, it was massive, with lit sconces lining the stone walls, casting shadows on them as the witch, Professor McGonagall, led them across the Hall and to a small room next to the large door that led to the Great Hall. Dahlia could hear voices through the door as they passed.

The room Professor McGonagall led them into was small, and they were squished together as they peered around nervously, wondering what was about to happen. Dahlia pressed into Seamus's side, and he looked away with a blush on his face.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said from the front of the crowd. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on several students, including Seamus's untucked shirt. He quickly stuffed the ends of the white shirt into his pants and closed his robes over them.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

She turned and left through the door that led into the Great Hall.

Everyone started talking nervously, and Briar turned to Dahlia.

"I didn't know we got sorted," he told her, eyes wide. "How do we get sorted?"

"There's a hat that gets put on your head and it tells you where you belong," she said. "Ayden said it was enchanted, and can look into all of your memories to see which house you best fit in."

"Fred told me it was a test, and that it hurt," Ron Weasley said, butting into the conversation. Harry Potter, who was standing next to him, gulped and looked nervous.

She rolled her eyes. "Fred will say anything to make you scared. And who do you trust more--Ayden, or Fred?"

He stared at her for a second before nodding. "You're right. Thanks, Dahlia."

"You two know each other?" Harry asked them, looking between them.

"We're cousins," Dahlia told him.

Ron nodded again. "Out mums are sister."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but he jumped when several people behind them screamed. They turned around, and Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Briar gasped. Ron, who had a ghoul in his attic, and Dahlia, who had been over enough times to get annoyed by said ghoul, just blinked at the ghosts that drifted through the walls and over the students.

One of them, a fat monk, was talking to a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance--"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not even really a ghost--I say, what are you all doing here?"

The ghost with the ruff suddenly spotted the first-years, and peered down at them like they were curios on a shelf.

No one said anything.

"New students!" the fat monk, who was probably the Fat Friar Dahlia's dad had told her about, exclaimed. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

Dahlia and some others nodded.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

"Move along now," Professor McGonagall said, back from the Great Hall. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

The ghosts slowly disappeared through one of the walls.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told them, "and follow me."

Dahlia's heart started pounding in anticipation as she got into line behind Briar and in front of Seamus, Harry behind him. They were led through the door leading into the Great Hall, and Dahlia's mouth fell open.

They were marched down the middle of the large room, two long tables on either side of them, and a third at the front where the Professors sat. The ceiling vaulted above them, disappearing in an enchantment of the night sky, stars winking down at them. Candles hovered throughout the Hall, lighting the place, and hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at them as they walked, all the way to the front, where a fifth table sat atop a raised dais.

Dahlia looked over her shoulder to see if she could see Ayden sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and saw him sitting in a sea of blue and copper. He waved at her from where he sat at the front of the table, and she gave him a little wave back. From the next table over, she saw the twins Fred and George and their older brother Percy Weasley looking at them in anticipation--not only was their little brother getting sorted, but so was their cousin.

She looked back as Professor McGonagall placed a rickety old stool at the top of the stairs, and placed a very worn hat on top of it.

Everyone was silent as they stared at it, like they were waiting for something. And then a rip appeared in the fabric, and the hat started to sing.

_"Oh you might not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brace at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindor apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are thrue_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking Cap!"_

The Hall burst into applause, Dahlia among them. A grin spread across her face as everyone quieted and Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a scroll in her hand, her heart pumping so fast she was starting to feel light-headed.

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!"

A girl in blonde pigtails stumbled to the stool and placed the hat on, and sat down. After a couple seconds, the tear in the hat reappeared and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

She pulled the hat off, a grin on her face, and joined the sea of yellow and black that was clapping excitedly.

"Bones, Susan."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again, and Susan scurried off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Dahlia stood in anticipation as more people were sorted, with Brocklehurst, Mandy also going to Ravenclaw, Brown, Lavender going to Gryffindor, and Bulstrode, Millicent becoming a Slytherin.

"Grace, Briar!"

Gulping, Briar walked up to the stool and placed the hat on his head, sitting down. A couple seconds later, and the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

The green and silver table cheered as Briar almost ran over to the Slytherin table, sitting down at the end. Seamus gave a face of betrayal as he watched him go.

Seamus was the next to in the small group to be sorted. He gulped and made his way to the stool. The hat took almost a full minute to decide where it wanted to put him, and shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!" He grinned as he sat down next to Percy Weasley.

The boy who lost his toad, Neville Longbottom, was sorted into Gryffindor, and ran to the table with the hat still on his head. Everyone laughed as he went back to give it to the next person.

A couple more people were sorted before Professor McGonagall called out, "Oakwood, Dahlia!" and all eyes were turned to her.

She made her way up the stairs to the stool, taking the hat off and sitting down. She pulled the hat on, blocking her view of the people staring at her.

_Hmm, interesting._

She stopped herself from jumping when a voice spoke in her mind, and she said, "Hello?"

_A werewolf? Haven't had one of you for a while. I put the last one in Gryffindor._

"I don't want to be placed somewhere just because I have a disease," she told the hat. "Sort me wherever, but not because of that. Please."

 _You would do well in Gryffindor. Your cousins are there, and I see a bravery in your heart. But no, that will not do. Then it must be_ "SLYTHERIN!"

She pulled the hat off her head as the Slytherin table cheered. She ignored Ron's wide-open mouth as she placed the hat on the stool and made her way over to the Slytherin table, sitting next to Briar.

A couple others were sorted before Harry Potter was sorted, and was placed in Gryffindor. It elicited the most applause, with Fred and George shouting, "We got Potter!" above it all. She sighed while Briar looked confused.

"Who's Harry Potter? And why is he such a big deal?"

The boy from the robes store, who was named Draco Malfoy and was also sorted into Slytherin, looked at Briar like he was crazy. "You don't know who Harry Potter is?"

One of the older students shushed him, causing him to give her a dirty look, as the next person was sorted. Dean was sorted into Gryffindor, and he and Seamus gave Briar and Dahlia looks of disappointment from across the room.

A couple people later, and Ron's name was called out by Professor McGonagall. He sat down on the stool, the hat on his head, and he sat there for about a minute, before the rip appeared in the hat and shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!"

He sat frozen on the stool for a second before he climbed off, placing the hat on the stool. He looked over longing at the Gryffindor table, where his brothers stared at him with wide-open mouths, and Harry looked guilty, before slinking over to the Slytherin table and sitting dejectedly across from Dahlia.

"Ron?" she asked, looking at him in surprise.

He didn't say anything, just stared down at his hands. Draco Malfoy looked horrified that a Weasley got sorted into Slytherin.

The last person to be sorted, Blaise Zambini, sat down next to Draco. A man Dahlia recognised as Albus Dumbledore, from the many chocolate frog cards she has, stood up from the table at the front, beaming at everyone, his arms outstretched.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat down, and food appeared on the golden plates in front of them. Dahlia grabbed a Yorkshire pudding and a plate full of roast lamb and put some on her plate before offering it to Ron, who was still staring down at his hands.

"Are you okay, Ron?" she asked him, concern in her voice.

"Am I okay?" he asked incredulously. "I'm a _Slytherin_ , of course I'm not okay!"

He took the outstretched plate of meat though and dumped all its contents on his plate. He then started chewing it aggressively.

"What's so wrong with Slytherin?" Briar asked. "I mean, it's a house. And I do like green."

"Slytherin is the _evil_ house," Ron told him. " _Everyone_ in Slytherin is evil."

"That's not true," Dahlia said, shaking her head slightly as she piled some potatoes on her plate. "Merlin was a Slytherin, and he's one of the most famous wizards ever."

Ron didn't say anything, just continued eating his meat.

After dinner was over, the food vanished, the plates squeaky-clean. And then desert came, and Dahlia scoffed down as much pudding as she could, until her stomach felt like it was going to burst. Then the desert disappeared too, and Professor Dumbledore stood up again, and the Hall fell silent.

"Ahem--just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

He glanced over at the Weasley twins, who looked proud.

"I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Dahlia looked shocked that he would tell students that. Or that something like that would even be in a school. Demetri and Briar also looked shocked and confused, while everyone else was nodding, like it was normal.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried. He gave his wand a flick and a long golden ribbon came out of it. It twisted itself into words high above everyone. "Everyone pick their favourite tune, and off we go!"

The Hall bellowed into a loud noise, everyone singing at different tunes and at different speeds. Dahlia sang softly, while Ron didn't sing at all. Everyone finished at different times, until there was only Fred and George left, singing a slow funeral march. Professor Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and then the Hall erupted into clapping. Again, Ron didn't clap.

"Ah, music," Professor Dumbledore said, wiping away a tear. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the comments and kudos! We're writing this as fast as we can because of you guys :)

The Great Hall erupted into noise as everyone stood up, excited for their upcoming year at Hogwarts. Ron trailed behind as the prefects led them down into the dungeons. The paintings on the walls waved at them in greeting as they passed, Dahlia waving back at some of them. The prefects led them to an empty wall, and one of them said, " _Ex quibus emendatio_ ," and the wall opened up.

The Common Room was very green. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, several high-backed chairs angled around it. There were more chairs and tables spread throughout the Common Room, with a couch and several more chairs surrounding a large window that took up the entirety of the back wall. Behind it was murky water, and Dahlia swore she could see something moving in the distance.

The prefects stopped the first-years in the middle of the Common Room, everyone else filtering around them to their dorms.

"Welcome to Slytherin," the boy said. "For those of you that don't know, I am Evan Hicks and this is Gemma Farley. We are your prefects. This is your Common Room, where you will be spending your free time. The boys' dorms are down there, and the girls' dorms are over there. No people of the opposite gender are allowed in the dorms. If you have any questions, please ask us."

Dahlia said goodnight to Ron, who huffed, and Briar, who looked like he was about to enter a food coma, and made her way to the first-years girl's dorms as they went to find the boy's dorms.

The dorms were quaint. It was a large rectangle with six beds, three on either side. The beds were canopies, with Slytherin quilts and pillows. Next to each bed was a desk, and a cupboard they could put all their things in. Dahlia found her trunk in the far left corner, next to a floor-to-ceiling window that looked out into the black lake. Moonlight cast murky shadows onto the floor of the dorm so, with Daphne Greengrass's help, she closed the curtains over the window.

She was in the middle of putting everything away in her cupboards when Gemma Farley, the prefect, walked in.

"Which one of you is Dahlia Oakwood?" she asked, eyeing everyone.

Dahlia said she was, and was asked to come with her. She did, hearing Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode snicker as she left.

"Professor Dumbledore has asked me to bring you to his office," Gemma said as they left the Slytherin Common Room. "He hasn't told me why, but he said it was urgent."

Dahlia nodded, and followed Gemma in silence through the many halls of Hogwarts, until they got to a statue of a gargoyle.

Dahlia was about to ask why they stopped when Gemma said, "Pumpkin Pasties," and the gargoyle sprang to life and jumped to the side. Behind it was a circular staircase that slowly moved up.

Gemma turned to her. "Professor Dumbledore's office is up there. Knock before you enter. "Do you remember the way back to the Common Room?"

Dahlia nodded, and she turned and walked away.

Swallowing the saliva in her throat, Dahlia stepped onto the moving stairs, the gargoyle moving back into place as she did, and waited as she was slowly lifted upwards. When she got to the top, she stepped off, right in front of an old oak door. She heard voices behind it, so she lifted her fist and knocked on the door.

The voices inside stopped, someone said, "Ah, that must be her," and the door opened.

Professor Dumbledore's office was large and circular, books lining many tall bookshelves. A phoenix sat on a perch on the claw-footed desk, a desk which Professor Dumbledore was leaning on slightly. There were two other adults there, too, one of them a greasy haired professor that had been sitting at the professors table during the welcome feast, the other a portly woman wearing a nurse's smock.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, stepping into the room.

"Ah, yes, Miss Oakwood. I would like to introduce you to Professor Snape, the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, and Madam Pomfrey, the Matron of the Hospital Wing. They will be helping you with your monthly transformations."

Dahlia just blinked at them, not saying anything.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering how this is all going to work," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "A few hours before the full moon, Madam Pomfrey will be taking you to the Whomping Willow. There is a tunnel underneath that will lead you to the Shrieking Shack, and it's a nice, safe place for you. So you will need to meet her in the Hospital Wing for her to take you."

"I will be brewing you the Wolfsbane Potion. You must drink it everyday for a week leading up to the full moon," Professor Snape said, his voice monotone and dreary, yet somehow also snide. "If you miss a day, it will not work."

Dahlia nodded, a grin on her face. She had heard her parents mention a Wolfsbane Potion before, but that it was too expensive to get every month. She tried to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, but failed. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Madam Pomfrey walked over to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Anything for my students. You deserve an education as much as everyone else."

"You will need to come to my classroom every morning a week before the full moon to get the potion," Professor Snape told her. "Ideally, you will come before breakfast."

She nodded, wiping away a tear. "Okay."

"Now, I think it's time for you to go back to bed," Professor Dumbledore said, giving her a warm smile.

She thanked them all again before she left the office. As she did, she heard Professor Dumbledore say, "At least she's in your house this time, Severus."

With that comment in her mind, she made her way back to the Slytherin Common Room. She changed into her nightgown and settled into her bed, ignoring the questions Pansy and Millicent were asking her. She rested her head on the pillow, and went to sleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next morning, Dahlia stood in the Common Room, dressed in her school uniform, staring out of the large window. It was much brighter now that it was daylight, and she could see schools of fish swim by the window, the form of the Giant Squid swimming in the distance. She found it peaceful.

Mainly, though, she was waiting on Ron and Briar.

They came out of the boys dorms, Briar happy for his first day of magic classes, Ron scowling at the fact that he was still a Slytherin. He glared at where she stood, realising she was waiting for him, and stopped in the middle of the Common Room.

Dahlia made her way over. "Are you okay, Ron?"

"I was hoping this was all a nightmare," he said, glowering, "and I'd wake up and it would be the morning of September First."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I understand, though. My dad's family are all Hufflepuff, and mum was the only Prewett to be a Ravenclaw in a family of Gryffindors."

"You really are the odd ones out," Briar said. "Come on, let's get breakfast. I'm starving."

Ron's stomach chose that moment to growl, and Dahlia laughed. "I think Ron is, too. Come on."

They left the Common Room and headed up to the Great Hall. They got there just as Seamus and Dean did, and they all stopped outside the large doors, people filtering in around them.

"Hey, guys," Dahlia said, smiling at them.

"Traitors," Seamus said. Dahlia couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Briar groaned. "You two aren't part of the house prejudice too, are you?"

Dean stabbed his thumb towards Seamus. " _He_ is, not me. I told him it was stupid."

"Finally, someone else with some sense."

"Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rivals since Hogwarts was founded," Seamus told them.

"Then why don't we get rid of it?" Dahlia asked.

"Tradition."

"Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people," she said. "I don't subscribe to pointless traditions like house rivalries."

The four of them gave her strange looks.  
"Ah, if it isn't the snakes," came a voice, and Fred and George Weasley appeared behind Seamus and Dean. "How's Slytherin?"

Ron glared at him and headed into the Great Hall.

"Why's he so touchy?" George asked. "All we did was ask how his house was."

"You're teasing him," Dahlia said. She looked at Seamus. "I hope we can still be friends, despite being in different houses."

Dean shrugged. "Briar and I have been friends since we were eight, us being in different houses isn't going to change that."

Seamus looked away, and he and Dean entered the Great Hall, going to the Gryffindor table on the far right.

"Who's this?" Fred asked, looking at Briar.

"Oh right," Dahlia said. "This is Briar. Briar, these are my cousins, Fred and George. Be careful, they will prank you."

"Oh, we won't," George said, but winked at them.

Dahlia rolled her eyes and entered the Great Hall, Briar telling the twins it was nice to meet them before following her. They sat down next to Ron, who was angrily glaring into his cereal. One of the third-year students looked a him weirdly before grabbing a piece of toast.

"It's going to be fine," Dahlia told Ron, biting into a waggle slathered with maple syrup. "It's not the end of the world."

He just sighed and continued glaring into his cereal.

A couple minutes later, Professor Snape placed a piece of parchment in front of Dahlia and tapped it with his wand, revealing her schedule. He did the same with Ron and Briar, before continuing down the table.

"Herbology first," Briar said. "What about you guys?"

Dahlia said the same thing, and had to look at Ron's because he had rolled up a pancake and stuffed it ino his mouth. All three of them had the same schedule, which was good. That way Dahlia could make sure Ron didn't mope himself into a detention their first week there.

They didn't know where the greenhouses were though, so they had to ask Ayden. He led them out of the castle and pointed to where the greenhouses sat, before turning and heading towards Charms.

Seamus and Dean were already down there. Seamus groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. Dean elbowed him in the gut, causing him to double over.

He smiled at the three of them. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Likewise," Briar said.

"Can't believe we have to have classes with other houses," Seamus muttered.

"I wonder what other classes with other houses," Briar said, and pulled his schedule out. Dean did the same, and they compared classes.

They snorted, and Dean pat Seamus on the back in support. "Sorry, mate. All our classes are with Slytherin."

Seamus faked a sob.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Dahlia said, rolling her eyes.

"We'll see," he said.

One of the nearby Gryffindors, Lavender Brown, gasped and pointed at the hill. "It's Harry Potter!"

They all turned, even Briar. He had been told what Harry had done when he was a baby, and he found it impossible. But then Dahlia had said he was attending a _magic_ school, despite all his family being non-magic, and he conceded it was possible.

Harry immediately went to Ron's side, which seemed to cheer him up significantly. He even happily entered the greenhouse when the short, stout woman that was Professor Sprout approached them and started the lesson. Seamus even shucked his house rivalry spiel and stood between Dean and Dahlia at their table, with Briar on the other side of Dean.

She smiled throughout the lesson. She was glad she didn't lose her friend.


	6. Chapter 6

The first week was a culture shock to Briar and Dean, who had spent all their lives in the muggle world, but for Dahlia and Seamus, it was exactly like their family members had told them it would be like.

Right after Herbology was Defense Against the Dark Arts, which all of them had been excited for, but it turned out to be a disappointment because of Professor Quirrel's stutter and fear of everything. Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor girl who had the intellect of a Ravenclaw, answered every question, and beamed proudly whenever the Professor gave her points. Dahlia managed to get some points, though, when he briefly mentioned werewolves.

It was far from the worst class, though. That titled belonged to History of Magic. The class was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns, but that was the most exciting thing about the class. Professor Binns droned on and on in a monotone voice, so deep and low Dahlia actually fell asleep. After a nudge from Seamus, though, she awoke and continued to take notes, though they were sloppy. Briar, the psychopath, loved the class though, and said she could use his notes to study if she wanted.

Ron became friends properly with Harry, and is mood increased significantly because of it. He endured his brothers' teasing of him being in another house--though Percy kept telling them off for it--and their offers to sneak him into Gryffindor Tower, which he declined. Harry was just glad to have a friend.

Transfigurations was cool, and Dahlia could definitely see why Conrad was obsessed with the subject. Their teacher ended up being Professor McGonagall, who could turn into a cat. It was cool, seeing the cat sitting on the desk one second, and the next she was standing there, giving everyone a stern look, and told the class how to transfigure a matchstick into a needle. After ten minutes of trying, Seamus managed to blow the matchstick up. Dahlia laughed at him as he sat there, covered in soot, eyes wide, his matchstick aflame. It didn't last long though, because Professor McGonagall waved her wand and he was clean, a new matchstick in front of him. Despite that little hiccup, he ended up being one of the only people that could make his matchstick metallic, along with Hermione Granger, of course. Dahlia sulked as they left the classroom, bummed that all she had been able to do was make her matchstick thinner.

On Wednesday, at midnight, they had Astronomy in the Astronomy Tower. They were all dreary and tired, none of them really wanting to be there, but Seamus at least got to laugh at Dahlia. She had been looking at Sirius B through her telescope when she fell asleep and fell to the floor, which earned a laugh from her peers and a point taken from Slytherin. Ron gave her a "Seriously?" look, then turned back to the starmap he was meant to be making.

Dahlia didn't really have an opinion on Charms yet. The Professor, Professor Flitwick, had jumped and fallen off his stack of books when he read Harry's name on the role. The three foot tall professor then climbed back onto the stack of books and fangirled over him the entire lesson, much to the chagrin of literally everyone, especially Draco Malfoy, who seemed to hate that Harry was getting all the attention.

Finally, it was Friday, and their first Potions lesson. They only had Potions that day, which was good, because Dahlia loved Potions, but it was also the only time they had it, which sucked. Though, she didn't know if she would love its Professor.

Dahlia sat next to Seamus in Potions, just like she had all the other classes, and could hardly hold her excitement. When Harry asked Ron why she was so excited, he told him that it was her favourite thing ever. They then both looked at her like she was mad.

Professor Snape was standing at the front of the class, finishing writing on the chalkboard. His hair was just as greasy as it was when she had met him in Professor Dumbledore's office her first night there. Once the entire class arrived, he did roll call, sneering when he got to Harry's name.

"Ah, yes, Harry Potter," he sneered. "Our new--celebrity."

Draco and his friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, snickered like he had said something funny. Ron turned around and glared at them.

Professor Snape finished the roll and looked up at the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he said in the same drawl he spoke in Professor Dumbledore's office. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death--if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Dahlia decided after his little speech that she didn't like him all that much, but she was willing to listen to him if it would teach her Potions .Her quill was standing ready in its inkpot, her parchment out, ready to take notes. She would be the best in this subject, she knew it. She's spent her whole life reading Potions books and watching witches and wizards in Diagon Alley brew them. She knew the most common cure for poisonings was a bezoar stone, taken from a goat's stomach. She knew the disastrous effects a wrongly-brewed potion could have. She had memorised many of the Potions that were in her Potions textbook, and even practiced with leaves, twigs, and dirt in the backyard.

"Potter!" Professor Snape said suddenly after a silence. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Dahlia's hand shot up, along with Hermione's, while Harry looked thoroughly confused.

"I don't know, sir," he said.

"Tut-tut--fame clearly isn't everything." Professor Snape pulled his lip back in a sneer, then looked at Dahlia. "Miss Oakwood?"

"The Draught of Living Death," she said. "It's a sleeping potion so powerful it makes the drinker indistinguishable from a corpse."

"Ten points to Slytherin, for answering the question and aptly describing what it is." He turned back to Harry. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Harry looked confused again, while Hermione raised her hand as far as it would go while she was sitting. Dahlia raised her hand, too.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said again.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter? Miss Oakwood."

She hesitantly lowered her hand, watching as Hermione deflated, but answered, "In the stomach of a goat, Professor."

"Five points to Slytherin. What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Hermione stood up, putting her hand up. Dahlia kept her hand down, not wanting Hermione to feel ignored by the Professor.

"I don't know," Harry said for the third time that morning. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people chuckled, and Seamus winked at Harry.

"Sit down," he barked at Hermione, then turned to Dahlia. "Miss Oakwood, you've answered the previous two questions. What's the answer?"

Dahlia's face heated up as the entire class was turned to her. "Um, they're the same plant. It has a third name as well, aconite."

"Five points to Slytherin," he said. He then glared at the rest of the class. "Well? Why have none of you written this down?"

There was a flurry of motion as everyone wrote down what Dahlia had said. Her face was still red when he told Harry he had last a point for Gryffindor, "for his cheek".

Snape put the class in pairs, and Dahlia ended up with Draco Malfoy. He thanked her for getting Slytherin so many points, and snidely remarked that with her Slytherin would win the House Cup for another seven years. She stayed silent as they were told to brew a potion of cure boils. This was one of the potions she had memorised, but still looked up at the board every now and then to make sure she was doing everything correcting.

On the desk next to her, Ron and Briar were peering into a cauldron that was bubbling a deep shade of red, meaning they had added the horned slugs too early. She looked over at where Harry and Hermione were standing on the Gryffindor side of the room, Hermione telling Harry what to do and yelling at him when he stirred the potion the wrong way.

Professor Snape went around the room, sneering at everyone's potions, until he got to Dahlia and Draco's. He congratulated them for stewing the slugs properly, and was showing the entire class when clouds of green acid filled the room. Dahlia immediately hopped onto her stool as she looked over to Neville and Seamus's cauldron, which had melted, their potion spilling out over the floor. Everyone copied suit, except for Neville, who had been doused in the potion. He cried out in pain as boils began appearing all over him, and Seamus let out a whimper as the potion that landed on him ate through his sleeve and caused his arm to be covered in boils.

Professor Snape told Seamus to take Neville up to the Hospital Wing, then took a point off Gryffindor because Harry didn't stop them from adding porcupine quills too early.

Dahlia decided that she definitely hated the Professor.

The rest of the class went by rather smoothly, with Professor Snape asking the class questions and always calling on Dahlia, even when she didn't have her hand up. He really seemed to like her, probably because she was good at Potions while also being a Slytherin.

After class, Dahlia headed to the Hospital Wing, because Neville and Seamus hadn't come back, while Briar and Dean decided to go get some lunch. After asking a Hufflepuff seventh-year for directions, she found the Hospital Wing and entered.

Madam Pomfrey huffed as she entered, but didn't say anything as she approached Seamus, who was sitting on the edge of one of the beds. Neville was lying on another, Madam Pomfrey leaning over him to cure him of his boils.

He smiled at her as she approached. "Hey. What're you doing here?"

"I was wondering where you were," she said. "You didn't come back to class."

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey didn't want to send me back in case I got covered in boils again. She's still healing Neville, though."

"You can go, dear," Madam Pomfrey told Seamus. "Be sure to eat lots, and drink water."

The two of them left, wishing Neville luck in his boil removal, and headed to the Great Hall, where they grabbed a couple sandwiches before making their way to an empty window seat in one of the corridors. They sat in silence for a couple minutes, just eating, Dahlia basking in the light that filtered through the window. Unluckily for them, the corridor they chose was quite deserted and the only noise present was the sound of them chewing on their sandwiches. Seamus finished his sandwich first, and sat there twiddling his thumbs, not knowing how to break the silence. Eventually, Dahlia took her last bite of her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. Complete silence ensued. None of them knew what to say or how to say it. After a long few seconds of uncomfortable fidgeting, they both started speaking at the same time.

"Do you--"

"How was--"

Their voices died down. Dahlia, deciding that she couldn't take any more of this, spoke up.

"You first."

"No, you first."

"Seamus, you big bonehead, just speak."

The boy looked at her blankly, blinked a couple times, then finally complied. "I was saying, how was your first Potions class?"

"Well, it's Potions, so of course I enjoyed it--"

"Even with that slimey-haired cockroach of a professor?"

"I never said I liked the professor. I meant that I enjoyed the class. But I would've enjoyed it a lot more if it wasn't for Professor Snape. Gosh, how can anyone even tolerate him?"

"Be happy. You have the easier end of it. He blatantly prefers you Slytherins. You earned, what, fifty points just by answering his questions?"

"It was twenty points, but go on."

"Why can't Professor McGonagall do the same for us? Stupid Slytherin and its stupid, what is it again, 'camaraderie'? It's just unfair..." Seamus crossed his arms and let out an over exaggerated huff of pretend-anger.

"Seamus, do you mind that I'm a Slytherin?" asked Dahlia. By the tone of her voice, Seamus could tell she was being serious. He flashed her a big toothy smile.

He shook his head. "No. You could be a Hufflepuff for all I care. As long as we get to be friends."

"Well, if I was a Hufflepuff we wouldn't have any classes together."

"Oh gosh, I didn't think of that. I take it back."


	7. Chapter 7

"Excited for flying lessons this afternoon?" Dahlia asked as she and Briar met with Dean and Seamus outside the Great Hall after breakfast, heading towards their Transfigurations class.

Dean groaned, then sent a glare at Dahlia. "Not you, too!"

"What?" she asked, confused. "What's so wrong with flying lessons?"

"Everyone in Gryffindor House is talking about it," Seamus explained. "Hermione even gave everyone a lecture on it about the history of Quidditch during breakfast."

Briar let out a laugh. "Same with Slytherin. This one," he said, elbowing Dahlia in the side, "loves Quidditch so much it's all she talks about with her brother."

As if he was summoned, Ayden ran out of the Great Hall after them, stopping in front of the group of first-years.

"Flying lessons start for you guys today, Ayden said, then looked pointedly at Dahlia. "Make me proud, Dee. Make me proud."

"No promises," she said.

"Okay, well, I have to go. I need to make sure every Ravenclaw knows Quidditch try-outs are tomorrow. Don't want only a handful to come like they did last year."

She rolled her eyes. "That would be the end of the world."

"I'm glad you see it that way. See you later."

She said goodbye, and he left, stopping a nearby Ravenclaw to remind her about Quidditch try-outs.

"He's as bad as Oliver Wood," Seamus muttered.

"I know," Dahlia said. "You should have seen the time he came over last year just to continue an argument they were having on the train home."

"Damn."

The day went by quickly. In Transfigurations, Dahlia and Briar had made more progress trying to change a matchstick into a needle, and Seamus had blown another one up. Charms came and went, with them learning the _Lumos_ spell, and they had all managed to light their wands up without, in Seamus's case, blowing anything up. And when it came time for flying, they traipsed down to the Quidditch field to meet with the flying instructor, Madam Hooch.

When everyone got there, Madam Hooch made them stand by one of the twenty-eight broomsticks that were laid down on the grass in two rows, separating the Gryffindors and Slytherins. So Seamus and Dahlia stood across from each other, and so did Dean and Briar, who were closer to each other than the other two. Dahlia thought that if they weren't careful, the group of four would split into two groups of two.

"Stick your right hand over your bloom" Madam Hooch told them, "and say 'Up!'"

"What if you're left handed?" Dahlia asked her.

"Use your left hand."

"Up!"

Everyone shouted the word at the same time, and Dahlia's broom rose immediately into her hand. She smiled and looked up at Seamus, whose broom looked like it was bouncing as he kept saying 'Up!'

When everyone had their brooms in their hands, Madam Hooch showed them how to mount the broom without falling off the end, then went down the rows to correct their grip. Dahlia almost laughed when she corrected Draco's grip, stating that he had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch said. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle–three–two–"

Before she got to one, Neville kicked off hard from the ground, and started rising fast. Madam Hooch told him to come down, but it looked like Neville couldn't control it, as he continued rising and rising, until he was over twenty feet high. Then he slipped off the side of the broom and fell to the ground facedown. Dahlia gasped as he hit the ground, and Madam Hooch ran over to him. He groaned as she bent over him.

"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy–it's all right, up you get." She turned to the rest of the class. None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

Dahlia dropped her broom on the floor and jogged over to Seamus, watching Madam Hooch take Neville to the hospital wing, tears streaming down his face. "Think he'll be okay?"

"Madam Pomfrey is an amazing healer, he'll be fine," Seamus said.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Draco started laughing. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" Some of the other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil told him, glaring.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy asked her, sneering. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"What is wrong with you?" Dahlia asked her. "Neville's hurt, how can you laugh at that?"

She scoffed. "And what makes you think I'll listen to you? You're not even a real Slytherin, hanging out with Gryffindors."

Dahlia moved towards her, planning on punching her on the face, but Seamus put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked back at him, then decided to just glare at Pansy.

"She's not worth it," Seamus said, also glaring at the other Slytherin girl.

"Hey, look!" Draco called out, picking up something from the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

"Give that here, Malfoy," Harry said, stepping forward.

Draco sneered. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find–how about up a tree?"

Harry lunged at him, but Draco had already taken off on his broom, up to the tops of the trees that stood on the edge of the Quidditch pitch.

Harry grabbed his broom, but Hermione went to try and stop him. He ignored her, and flew up to Draco. Many people gasped, and Ron let out a whoop of admiration.

"He's going to get himself killed," Dahlia said. She couldn't hear what the two boys were saying as they were too high up, but Harry shot forward to try and knock Draco off his broom. Draco just got out of the way, and then threw the Remembrall high into the air towards the castle.

Harry immediately went after it, zooming through the sky as Draco returned to the ground. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were congratulating him, but Dahlia's eyes were stuck on Harry, following him as he caught the Remembrall and rolled softly onto the grass.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Dahlia whirled around to see Professor McGonagall stomped over to Harry, fury on her face. She told him to follow her, ignoring the other students as they protested that it wasn't Harry's fault.

"Now look what you've done!" Dahlia yelled at Draco. "Why can't you leave anything alone?"

Draco only sneered at her.

* * *

"What did you _do?_ "

Dahlia looked up from her Potions homework to find Ayden standing over her. She was currently in the library with Seamus, Dean, and Briar, who were currently doing their Transfigurations work.

"What do you mean?" she asked, twiddling her quill between her fingers.

"Something happened in flying class, didn't it?" Ayden asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "And I know because Oliver came up to me after class and yelled _Harry Potter is the new Gryffindor seeker_."

"And what makes you think I had anything to do with it?" she asked.

"Because you live to spire me. You want Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup, don't you?"

"No, I want Slytherin to win the Quidditch Cup, because I'm in Slytherin," she told him. "Ask Ron if he had something to do with it, he hates that he's a Slytherin."

He motioned to Seamus and Dean, who were watching on in amusement. "You hang out with Gryffindors, so why not?"

"I also hang out with Briar, and he's a Slytherin."

"Yeah, but you're always with Seamus and paired with him in classes," Briar said. "So, it's not much of a stretch."

"How would I even make sure that Harry got onto th Gryffindor team?" Dahlia asked her brother, ignoring Briar. "First years aren't allowed to be on the Quidditch teams."

Ayden narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, but I know you had something to do with it." 

"Yeah she said," Seamus said, grinning. "You should've seen her yelling at Malfoy for throwing Neville's Remembrall and thinking Harry was in trouble. It lasted until Madam Hooch came back from the Hospital Wing."

"It was glorious," Dean agreed, nodding his head.

"Whatever. Just know that if he stays on the team Ravenclaw's going to lose this year, and it'll be all your fault."

He turned on his heel and walked out of the library.

"How can it be all my fault when I wasn't the one that took the Remembrall?" Dahlia asked her friends.

Seamus shrugged, a smirk on his face.

* * *

"It's a trap, I overheard Draco say it was," Dahlia said, standing in front of the exit of the Slytherin Common Room.

Ron looked impatient as he stood cross-armed in front of her. "I need to get to Harry, Dahlia. I don't care if it's a trap."

"Ron, just listen to me," she told him. "I overheard Draco telling Pansy it was a trap. You can't go."

"What about Harry?" Ron asked. "He doesn't know it's a trap."

Dahlia stared at him for a second. After some thinking, she said, "Fine. But I'm going with you to make sure you don't duel as Harry's second."

He rolled his eyes, and they left the Common Room to head to the Gryffindor Tower. As they approached the top of the stairs, they started to hear a pair of muffled voices.

"–cannot go, Harry. Filch and Mrs Norris are patrolling the halls. You can't be out this late, do you want Gryffindor to win the House Cup or not?"

"Just move, Hermione. I won't get caught. Do you want Malfoy to think I backed away from a duel?"

"Who cares what he thinks!"

Dahlia and Ron turned a corner and found Harry and Hermione arguing at the top of a flight of stairs, standing in front of an empty portrait. Harry saw them and turned to go to them, but Hermione turned around and spotted them too.

"What are they doing here?" she asked, bewildered.

"I'm Harry's second," Ron said importantly.

"I'm here to tell Harry that the duel is a trap, and that Filch is waiting for him in the trophy room," Dahlia told them.

"See? I told you this wasn't a good idea," said Hermione.

"You're both just trying to make me back down. Look, Filch or not, I need to get to that duel. And that's final. Ron, let's go." Harry pushed past the two girls angrily and walked away, Ron followed.

"I'm coming with you," said Dahlia.

"But–"

"Bo 'but's, Ronald. If you get expelled, imagine what your mother would think. We both know Aunt Molly's temper," said Dahlia. Ron's pace slowed down a bit. For a moment he seemed to regret his decisions, but he shook his head and caught back up with Harry.

"I'm not letting you lose even more points for Gryffindor, Harry. Come back before I make you," Hermione called from behind. Her footsteps came closer and closer before Dahlia stopped her, ears prickling.

"Do you guys hear that?" she asked.

"Mrs Norris?" Ron asked, peering into the darkness.

A quick search saw that it wasn't Mrs Norris, but in fact Neville, who was curled up next to the portrait asleep. When they approached him, he jumped awake.

"Thank goodness you found me!" he said. "I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get into the tower."

"Keep your voice down, Neville," Hermione said. "The password's--ow! What was that for?"

She looked over at Harry incredulously, as he had elbowed her in the rib. He motioned to Dahlia and Ron. "The password is for Gryffindors only, remember?"

"I'll tell you the password later, then," she said, glaring at Harry. "It's not going to be much help at the moment, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" Harry asked Neville.

"Fine," he said. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good--well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later--"

"Don't leave me!" Neville cried, climbing to his feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Dahlia and Ron shivered. They understood what he meant.

Ron looked at his watch before glaring at Hermione, Dahlia, and Neville. "If any of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and use it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth to tell him how to cast the curse, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet. He then started leading them towards the trophy room on the third floor. When they got there, Draco and his second, whoever he said it would be, weren't there. Just like Dahlia had said.

"Told you," she muttered, crossing her arms.

Ron stuck his tongue out at her.

A noise in the next room caused Harry to jump, and there was a person speaking--Filch. Dahlia pulled Neville with her as she started running, rounding the corner with the others just as Filch entered the room, Mrs Norris with him.

"They're in here somewhere, probably hiding."

 _This way!_ Harry mouthed at them, and they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour which fell apart with a metallic _clang!_

"RUN!" Harry yelled then bolted, Hermione on his tail. Dahlia helped Ron and Neville get to their feet and then chased after Harry, not looking back to see if Filch was following them. Harry led the way, obviously having no idea where he was going, and he tripped through a tapestry and tumbled into one of the many secret passages Hogwarts housed. Dahlia followed him in, looking back to make sure the tapestry was sitting straight. Then she followed them down the long hall that led to near the Charms classroom, which was far away from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry said, panting and leaning against the cold wall.

"I told you," Hermione gasped in between breaths. "I told you."

"Maybe you should listen to us next time," Dahlia told them. "It'll keep us from having near heart attacks."

"We have to get back to our Common Rooms," Ron said, "as quickly as possible."

"Come on, Ron," Dahlia said, still panting, and started down the corridor.

Though she didn't get far before Peeves, a poltergeist that was constantly harassing the staff and students of Hogwarts, flew out of a locked classroom and stopped them in their tracks. He let out a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves--please--you'll get us thrown out," Hermione pleaded.

"I don't think being out of bed for one night is going to get us expelled, Hermione," Dahlia said, stating the obvious. "Detention, yes. Expulsion? No."

Hermione sent her a withering stare. She just raised an eyebrow.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties?" Peeves asked, eyes wide with glee. "Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Harry said.

"Should tell Filch, I should," the poltergeist said innocently. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron told him, and swiped at him.

Peeves didn't like that. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"Not again," Dahlia muttered, then followed the group as they darted underneath Peeves and to the end of the corridor. Harry tried to open it, but it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, trying to open the door with brute force. "We're done for! This is the end!"

"Stop being so dramatic!" Dahlia shouted at him.

"Says you! You don't have to face my mother!"

"Oh, move over," Hermione told them, taking Harry's wand from him and pointing it at the lock. " _Alohamora!_ "

The locked clicked and the door swung open--they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch asked the poltergeist. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please'."

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," Peeves said, and Dahlia was suddenly glad she hadn't encountered him before tonight.

"All right--please."

"NOTHING!" He let out, loud enough for it to sound like he was right next to them. "Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"

Then there was the sound of Peeves whooshing away, and Filch started swearing.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay--get off Neville!"

Dahlia looked over to see Neville tugging at his sleeve, pale-faced as he stared into the room--corridor, really. She turned around, and she felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at the giant black three-headed dog that was growling at them, and in that moment she realised just where they were--in the forbidden corridor on the third floor.

She let out a frightened squeak, gaining the attention of the others.

They turned around to see what she was seeing, and she felt Harry reach for the doorknob. They fell backwards as the door opened, and Harry slammed it shut again. Dahlia didn't see Filch, but she didn't care at the moment--all she cared about was getting away from the monstrous dog and that corridor. It even slipped her mind that she followed the Gryffindors through the castle to Gryffindor Tower, and saw that the Fat Lady was back.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked.

It was at that point Dahlia and Ron realised where they were.

"We have to go," she said, and started turning around. "If you tell anyone about what happened tonight, and especially that I was there, I'm going to punch you in the face."

She and Ron made the long trek to the Slytherin Common Room, making sure to look around every corner and in every nook and cranny to see if Filch or Mrs Norris were there, but thankfully it was a large castle, and Filch was only one man, and they made it without being caught.

That night, after Dahlia crawled into bed, she dreamed of three-headed dogs.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Dahlia and Ron were unable to keep their eyes open and their heads lulled up and down as they tried to shove breakfast into their mouths. Briar eyed them with a mix of concern and confusion as Dahlia rested her head on the table.

She was probably going to fall asleep in Potions, but she was willing to endure the detention Professor Snape would give her, whatever it was, just for a couple more minutes of sleep.

Someone sat down across the table from her, and she flicked her eyes up to see Seamus looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Harry's an idiot," she muttered. "Ron isn't any better. Neville's scared of everything. And Hermione is the only responsible person in all of Gryffindor."

"True, but what makes you say that?"

She shrugged.

She managed to stay awake during Potions, with the help of Seamus pinching her in the arm whenever her eyes got too droopy, and then he and Briar helped her down to the Slytherin Common Room, where she slept until dinner.

The next Monday was the first day of Dahlia's first lot of Wolfsbane Potion. That morning, she woke up at her usual time, usually leaving the Common Room to watch the sunrise, but this time, after getting dressed and ready, she headed to the Potions room to see Professor Snape.

She made it to the Potions room and knocked on the door. A couple seconds later, Professor Snape opened the door and let her in, closing the door behind her. He moved to the desk where a goblet was sitting, and gave it to Dahlia.

"Is this the potion?" she asked, staring at the faint blue smoke that rose from the goblet.

"Yes. Drink it."

She raised the goblet to her lips and tipped her head back, a nasty taste filling her mouth as the liquid trickled down her throat. She coughed, lowering the goblet, not expecting the taste. "That's foul."

Scrunching up her nose, she took a deep breath and drank the rest of the disgusting liquid, almost choking on the taste. But she managed to drink it all, and handed the goblet back to Professor Snape.

"Thank you," she said.

He told her to get out of his classroom.

At breakfast, Ron and Briar asked her where she was that morning, as they usually walked up to breakfast together. She told them she had to do something, and it would be continuing for the rest of the week as well. They seemed suspicious, but didn't say anything and continued eating their breakfast.

On Thursday, Draco made a big stir after breakfast that Harry had been given a Nimbus Two Thousand by Professor McGonagall, and that it was blatant favouritism. Dahlia pointed out that Professor Snape blatantly favoured them because they were Slytherins, and he just scowled at her.

Monday came again, no mention of what happened in the third floor corridor with the giant three-headed dog, and Dahlia took the last of the Wolfsbane Potion for the month. Glad she wouldn't have to subject herself to the putrid taste of the potion for three more weeks, Dahlia skipped into the Great Hall and treated herself with a stack of pancakes. She paid extra attention during classes as she would be skipping them the next day, and prepared herself for her transformation.

After all her classes, as the sun started to set, she went to the Hospital Wing to meet with Madam Pomfrey, just like she had been told to do. Making sure that there was no one outside near the Whomping Willow, the Matron took her to the homicidal tree and cast a stunning spell at one of the knots at the tree's base. The entire tree froze. Madam Pomfrey smiled at her and told her she'd come collect her from the Shrieking Shack in the morning, and made sure Dahlia had entered the secret tunnel underneath the tree before leaving back for the castle.

The tunnel was small and made her feel claustrophobic, but a bit of discomfort as she made her way through it was worth coming to Hogwarts for.

At the end of the tunnel was a door, and she found herself in a dilapidated building with doors falling off their hinges, windows caked with years of dirt and mold. Some of the floorboards were missing, and scratches from what looked like claws littered the entire building.

This was where the last werewolf was, too.

She didn't really remember her transformations, but this one she did. She always remembered what it felt like when the light of the full moon hit her, and her entire body started changing. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as she changed, bones elongating and moving, her insides turning to mush before reforming again in different places.

The difference this time, though, was that her mind was hers. It wasn't full of bloodlust or the urge to kill, like it usually was. She was herself.

She ended up sleeping the entire night, not knowing if she'd be as tired as she usually was or if she would get a full night's rest. Either way, Madam Pomfrey would keep her in the Hospital Wing all day, just to make sure.

* * *

Seamus was concerned. He hadn't seen Dahlia all day, and he was getting worried. He asked Ron and Briar if they had seen her that morning in the Common Room or at breakfast, but said they hadn't. In fact, they hadn't seen her since the night before.

By the time the end of classes came around, he was freaking out. People didn't just disappear in a school they slept at. Someone had to have noticed they were gone at some point. And Seamus noticed Dahlia missing.

He reached the end of his rope and searched the castle for Ayden, because if anyone knew where his best friend was, her brother would.

He found him in one of the window seats finishing his Arithmancy homework, the Ravenclaw immediately knowing something was wrong with the Gryffindor. He put his books on the seat next to him and stood up. "Is everything okay?"

"Do you know where Dahlia is?" he asked, swallowing the bile that was rising in his throat. "She wasn't in any of our classes today and no one knows where she is and I'm freaking out--"

"She's fine," Ayden said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's sick, so she's been in the Hospital Wing since last night. You know Madam Pomfrey and her overprotectiveness."

Seamus let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. That's-- yeah. I'm going to go check on her."

"Madam Pomfrey doesn't like visitors," Ayden said as the younger boy started in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

"Oh well," Seamus called over his shoulder at him, already halfway down the corridor.

He got to the Hospital Wing and pushed open the doors, his eyes scanning the beds for Dahlia. He saw Neville being pampered by Madam Pomfrey, as he had somehow broken his arm in Herbology and was taken to the Hospital Wing by Dean.

He found Dahlia on one of the beds at the back of the large room and made his way to her. She was curled up on her side, asleep, the thin quilts of the bed pulled up to her chin. She looked so peaceful, no worries lining her face, and he wanted to stand there forever and just watch her sleep.

Then Madam Pomfrey came over and frowned at him. "What are you doing in here?"

"She's my best friend," he said, still looking at her face. "I was worried about her."

"She's fine, just a bit sick. She'll be in classes again, tomorrow."

He nodded.

Dahlia stirred, eyes opening slowly and moving onto her back. She looked up at Seamus. "Seamus?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" he asked immediately.

She sat up in the bed, Madam Pomfrey raising the top of it so she do so comfortably, the quilts pooling around her waist. She shrugged. "I guess it slipped my mind. If it happens again, I'll tell you. I promise."

She rubbed her arms as Madam Pomfrey left them. Seamus couldn't help but stare at the white lines dotting her skin.

"Where'd you get those?" he asked, pointing at the many scars that covered her arms.

She shrugged again. "I had an active childhood. My siblings and I were always playing Quidditch, and we were less than careful."

There was something in her voice that made him think she was lying, but didn't say anything. He was just glad she was okay.

Madam Pomfrey came back with a goblet full of pumpkin juice, and made Dahlia drink it all before she left them alone again.

Dahlia pat her lap with both hands. "So what did I miss in class?"

"Neville broke his arm in Herbology."

"How?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, it's Neville."

"Hey!" Neville shouted, offended, as he headed out of the Hospital Wing, his arm fixed again.

Seamus threw his arms out to the sides. "It's true!"

Dahlia let out a laugh at her best friend's antics. "I meant school work, you know."

"You can copy my notes," he said. "I made them extra detailed in case you came back. I was really worried."

"Sorry."

She was released soon after, and they sat in the library and chatted with each other as Dahlia copied his notes from class. They weren't as detailed as Seamus said they were, but they were good enough for her to figure out what happened in class.

* * *

Halloween morning, Dahlia woke up to the smell of baking pumpkins wafting through the corridors, and she happily dug into the pumpkin pancakes that were out for breakfast.

Another full moon had come and gone, though she had told Seamus that she was feeling sick and probably wouldn't be in class the next day, so he didn't worry as much when she didn't show up for classes. Thankfully, though, he wasn't suspecting that she was lying to him, so her furry little problem was still a secret from the students.

In Charms, Professor Flitwick told them that they were finally going to start levitating objects and put the students in pairs. Seamus was paired with Harry while Dahlia was paired with Ron.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick told them, perched atop his stack of books like usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too--never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It was a lot more difficult than Professor Flitwick made it out to be. Despite saying the words as perfect as she possibly could, the feather he had given them would not life. After half the class, she looked over to see how Seamus was doing, and saw him staring down a feather that was on fire. She snorted, and he poked his tongue out at her.

"Oh well done!" Professor Flitwick said. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

She looked and saw that she did, in fact, have the feather in the air.

Dahlia was excited for the feast that night. Ayden had told her how awesome it was, and as she stepped into the Great Hall with Seamus, she knew that he was right. A thousand live bats fluttered from wall to ceiling while a thousand more were like a black cloud floating over the tables. The candles that were usually floating around the roof were now jack-o-lanterns, giving the Hall an extra air of atmosphere. She grinned over at Seamus before they separated to go to their house tables.

She piled her plate high with food and gorged herself, and was reaching for another Yorkshire pudding as the doors of the Great Hall flung open, and Professor Quirrell ran into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared at him as he ran up to Professor Dumbledore and slumped onto the table in front of him. "Troll--in the dungeons--thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

Dahlia started screaming with everyone else--how did a troll get into the dungeons?--and it took several purple firecrackers from Professor Dumbledore's wand to get her to stop, eyes wide and panic in her veins.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Dahlia wanted to point out that the Slytherin Common Room was in the dungeons, but her mind wasn't making much sense of anything. She let herself be shepherded out of the Great Hall by the two Slytherin prefects, and it wasn't until they were out of the Great Hall that she realised something.

She had heard two Gryffindor girls, Parvati and Lavender, talking about how Hermione was in the bathroom crying. She didn't know there was a troll wandering the halls of Hogwarts.

Dahlia decided she would go and tell her.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ron asked, breaking away from the Slytherin students as she did.

"I overheard some Gryffindor girls saying Hermione's crying in the bathroom," Dahlia said. "She doesn't know about the troll!"

"And why is that your problem?"

Dahlia didn't answer, but Ron continued to follow her.

On the way to the bathroom, they hid from Professor Snape as he rushed down the hall towards the third floor. Dahlia wondered why as she and Ron literally ran into Harry.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, bewildered.

"I was going to tell Hermione about the troll," Harry told her. "What're you doing?"

"I was doing the same thing. Ron decided to follow me."

"Well you can go back to your Common Room now, I have this under control," he said.

"You're not even her friend," Dahlia told him. "Why are you here?"

He opened his mouth to say something but Dahlia stopped him, lifting her nose to the air and sniffing.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Do you smell that?"

It smelt like old socks and an uncleaned public toilet, a mixture Dahlia hadn't smelt before. And then they heard it--a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed to the end of the passage to the left, and Dahlia realised that something huge was coming towards them.

She pulled Ron and Harry into a dark corner as a troll appeared in the corridor they were just in, walking slowly, a club in its hand, dragging behind him. It stopped next to a doorway and ducked inside.

"The key's in the lock," Harry whispered. "We could lock it in."

"That's the girl's bathroom," Dahlia said, and ran towards the room. Harry and Ron chased after her.

They got there as a shrill shriek emitted from the room, and they wntered to see Hermione shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the wall as it went.

Dahlia pulled her wand out as Harry yelled at them to confuse it, running towards Hermione to try and get her out. She pointed it at the troll, cleared her throat, and shouted, "Stupefy!" The red light jumped out of the top of the wand, hitting the troll square in the chest. But it didn't really do anything but make it angry. It roared at her as Ron threw a sink at it.

Hermione didn't look like she was going to move, petrified into staying still, and Harry did the only thing he could think of--he jumped on the back of the troll. And his wand went straight up its nose.

Howling in pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him with the club.

Hermione sank to the floor, and Ron took out his wand, casting the first spell that came to mind: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club was wrenched out of the troll's hand, and Dahlia took that opportunity to run at Hermione and start dragging her out of the bathroom. Halfway across the floor, there was a sickening crack, and the troll fell flat on its face. Ron stood there with his wand raised as Harry got to his feet, staring at what he had done.

"Is it dead" Hermione asked, still sitting on the floor.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "I think it's just been knocked out."

He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.

"Ugh--troll boogers."

He wiped it on the troll's trousers.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realised the racket they had made, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway, followed by Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell. The latter took one look at the troll, let out a few whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Professor Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron, Harry, and Dahlia. Dahlia had never seen her so angry. Her lips were white.

"What on earth were you thinking?" she asked, cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why are you not in your dormitories?"

"Please, Professor McGonagall--they were looking for me," Hermione said, still on the floor.

"Miss Granger!"

She stood up and looked at her Head of House. "I went looking for the troll because I--I thought I could deal with it on my own--you know, because I've read all about them." Dahlia gave her an unbelieving look. Hermione never told lies. Why was she lying? "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its noise, Ron knocked it out with its own club, and Dahlia tried getting me out before I got hurt."

"I also tried stunning it," Dahlia muttered.

"They didn't have to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

"Well--in that case..." Professor McGonagall said, staring at the four of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung his head, and Harry looked at her dumbfounded.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," Professor McGonagall said. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione left. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Ron, and Dahlia.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. Five points for Gryffindor, and ten points for Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

They hurried out of the bathroom, Dahlia because she didn't want Professor Snape to chastise her, and the three of them separated, Harry heading for Gryffindor Tower, and Dahlia and Ron to the dungeons. When they got there, people asked her where they were, but Dahlia just went to her dorm and got ready for bed.

She tried to sleep, but it was a while before it came.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while lol. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Through the first week of November, with the air getting chilly and frost covering the ground, Harry and Ron were a lot friendlier to Dahlia, and even started hanging out with Hermione, but that was what happened when you fought a mountain troll together and lived to tell the tale.

The day after Halloween, Seamus had asked her if she had fought a mountain troll with Harry and Ron, as apparently a couple of Gryffindors found out somehow. She told him the truth. He looked at her in awe. She sent a letter home that day to tell her parents about it before the school could, and she was yet to get a letter in reply.

Then Saturday came, the morning of the first Quidditch game, and the family owl Charcoal, named for its dark plumage, came with a letter in its beak. Thankfully it wasn't a howler, meaning they weren't too upset about it. She fed the owl a piece of her pancakes, and he flew out of the Hall with all the other owls.

She opened it and read through it, ready for the worst. Surprisingly, it was mainly praising her for saving her friend, and only a little bit of scolding that she should have told one of the professors instead of going herself, and happy that she was making friends in other houses (and people other than Seamus, whatever that meant."

Though, just as she was about to grab another pancake, Ron came over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out of her seat and out the Great Hall. She tried to wrench her arm away from him, but he was incredibly strong, and didn't let go until they were out of the Hall. Tucked into the corner were Harry and Hermione, and they beckoned her over.

She went to them and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is there a reason why Ron just kidnapped me or did you just do it for fun?"

"We think Snape tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween," Harry said. "We think he brought the troll to the dungeons as a distraction."

"Professor Snape may not like you, but that doesn't mean he would intentionally harm students," Dahlia said.

"Then how'd he get the wound on his leg?" Ron asked, raising his brow.

"And before you say from an unrelated incident, I heard him talking about the three-headed dog when I tried getting my book back last night," Harry said.

She shook her head. "Why would he even want to get past the three-headed dog?"

"Yeah, I just thought it was, you know, _there_ ," Ron said.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other before Hermione said, "You weren't there when I told Harry. I saw it standing on a trapdoor, and Harry thinks Dumbledore's hiding something under there. He thinks Snape's trying to get it."

"Why?" asked Dahlia.

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "But then why did we see him rushing to the third floor on Halloween?"

She sighed deeply, knowing that they weren't going to give it up. "Say that he is trying to get whatever's hidden there, and say that Professor Snape tried to get past the three-headed dog--who's going to believe us, a bunch of first years, over a teacher Professor Dumbledore vetted? Especially without proof?" They were silent for a moment.

"Then I guess we need proof," Harry said.

"Proof for what?" a voice chimed from behind Dahlia.

She turned around to see Seamus standing not far from them, a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck. "Nothing."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't believe you."

"Anyway,' she said, clapping her hands together. "Harry, you should get to the Quidditch pitch, you're playing, aren't you? And Seamus, I'll meet you there, I just need to get some warmer clothes on."

She hurried back to the Slytherin Common Room, feeling Seamus's eyes on her back until she turned down another corridor.

When she got wrapped up in her Slytherin scarf and mittens, she found Seamus waiting for her outside the castle doors. She'd brought two pairs of binoculars out with her and handed one to Seamus as they walked silently down to the Quidditch pitch. They found a stand that had both Gryffindors and Slytherins in it and stood at the line so they could cheer for their own teams while staying next to each other. Their friends had the same idea, as Hermione and Ron held a large sheet between them that said, 'Potter for President' with a large Gryffindor lion underneath it that changed colours. Dean and Briar were standing next to them, and Neville smiled at Dahlia as she moved to stand next to Ron.

They all cheered loudly as the two teams, Gryffindor and Slytherin, came onto the pitch, their brooms in hand. Madam Hooch was standing in the centre of the pitch next to the box of balls. She was going to referee the game, as she didn't belong to one of the houses that was playing. In fact, Dahlia didn't think she belonged to any house.

When the players got to the middle of the pitch, they mounted their brooms, and they flew high into the air, the balls being released, the game starting immediately.

" _And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor--what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too--_ "

" _JORDAN!_ "

" _Sorry, Professor._ "

Dahlia raised her binoculars to her eyes to see what was happening, listening to the commentary Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins, was saying, while also being reprimanded by Professor McGonagall, whom Dahlia had learned was an avid Quidditch fan. Almost as much a fan, she thought as Dean shouted at the top of his lungs at the players, waving a Gryffindor flag around with a fervour she'd never seen from the boy, as Dean was.

" _And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's last year only a reserve--back to Johnson and--no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes--Flint flying like an eagle up there--he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors get the Quaffle--that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and--OUCH--that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger--Quaffle taken by the Slytherins--that's Adrien Pucey speeding off towards the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger--sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tel which--nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes--she's really flying--dodges a speeding Bludger--the goal posts are ahead--come on, Angela--Keeper Bletchley dives--misses--GRYFFINDOR SCORES!_ "

Dahlia swore as the Gryffindors next to her cheered for their team.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!"

Dahlia lowered her binoculars and looked over to see Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, making his way through the crows towards the Gryffindor students next to her. Ron and Hermione squeezed over so Hagrid could join them.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," he said, patting a pair of large binoculars around his neck. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," Dahlia said, putting her binoculars back to her eyes to watch one of the Slytherin Chasers, Emerson Moore, making him drop the Quaffle.

Hagrid glanced down at her for a second before Ron spoke.

"Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'."

High above them, Harry was looking for the Snitch. He dodged a Bludger, and one of the Weasleys came and hit it away from him.

" _Slytherin in possession_ ," Lee Jordan said, " _Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the--wait a moment--was that the Snitch?_ "

A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrien dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of fold that had passed his left ear.

Harry saw it, and dove for it, and Dahlia let out a cheer when she saw the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs, chasing after it, too. Harry was faster than him, though, and Dahlia leaned forward, zooming her binoculars in further as he put on an extra burst of speed, but Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain, stopped dead in his tracks, blocking Harry. Harry slammed into him, sending him off course, holding on for dear life.

Someone called for a foul, and Madam Hooch flew up to Marcus, talked to him a bit, and gave Gryffindor a free shot at the goals. And in all the confusion, the Gold Snitch had disappeared.

"Send him off, ref! Red card!" Dean yelled at Madam Hooch, but Dahlia doubted she could hear him.

"What are you talking about, Dean?" Ron asked him.

"Red card!" Dean yelled again. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"This isn't soccer, Dean," Dahlia told him.

"They oughta change the rules," Hagrid said, taking Dean's side. "Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."

"I'm sure there's a spell to slow someone's fall," Dahlia said.

" _So--after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating--_ "

" _Jordan!_ " Professor McGonagall growled through the speaker.

" _I mean, after that open and revolting foul--_ "

" _Jordan, I'm warning you--_ "

" _All right, all right_ ," Jordan conceded. " _Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession_."

Harry dodged another Bludger, sent his way by Slytherin Beater Morgan Forrest. Then the strangest thing happened, and his broom lurched to the side. Then it started bucking in the air, almost like it was trying to throw him off, but Dahlia wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were on the Quaffle, the binoculars held to her eyes so she couldn't see anything in her peripherals, including the inconspicuous looks Seamus was throwing her way every couple minutes.

" _Slytherin still in possession--Flint with the Quaffle--passes Spinnet--passes Bell--hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose--only joking, Professor--Slytherin scores--a no..._ "

Dahlia and Briar were cheering loudly, Dahlia shaking Seamus at her excitement that Slytherin had scored. He tried to slap her off, but her grip was like iron, and he started bouncing as she jumped up and down to let the energy out of her body.

"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid muttered. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have..."

Dahlia moved her binoculars to point at Harry, and it was true. He was jerking around, his broom moving of its own accord, and he wrapped his arms and legs around it to stop himself from falling off. Suddenly, people were pointing up at him, getting the attention of the Quidditch players. The broom jerked again, and Harry tumbled off the broom, managing to grab it with one hand before plummeting to the ground.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus asked.

"Can't have," Hagrid said, voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic--no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

Hermione took Hagrid's binoculars off him, but instead of looking up at Harry she looked at the stands. Dahlia did, too, and came to the same conclusion as the Gryffindor girl.

"I knew it. Snape--look."

She shoved the binoculars at Ron, and Dahlia looked through the crowd more, seeing if anyone else was muttering nonstop, eyes locked on Haryr. But she couldn't find one, and she lowered her binoculars slowly.

She had wanted proof. And now she had it.

"He's doing something--jinxing the broom," Hermione said.

"What should we do?" Ron asked, binoculars glued to Professor Snape.

"Leave it to me," she said, and left before they could say anything.

Dahlia had no idea what she was doing, so she focused back on harry to make sure he wasn't going to fall. The Weasley twins were trying to fly up and get him safely on their brooms, but every time they neared the broom just kept getting higher and higher, so they resigned to circling underneath him to catch him is he fell.

Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.

The broom stopped jerking around, and Harry pulled himself back onto the broom, which was a great feat of upper-body strength that Dahlia didn't know he had.

"Neville, you can look!" Ron told Neville, who had been huddling under Hagrid's jacket for the past five minutes.

Harry zoomed downwards, and then covered his mouth like he was going to throw up. He landed on the ground, and then he spat out something golden. He held it up in the air, and shouted, "I've got the Snitch!"

Dahlia was confused, and it was Seamus's turn to bounce her up and down as he jumped excitedly at Gryffindor's win.

"Who cares?" he shot back. "He has the Snitch, we won!" He let out a loud yell, shaking her.

"Hey, come on," Ron told Dahlia, reaching for her arm and pulling her along with him.

"Where are you taking me now?" she asked exasperating, grabbing Seamus's arm and dragging him with her.

"Hagrid's hut," Ron called over, pulling her through the crowd, following Hermione and Hagrid.

Twenty minutes later, Dahlia and Seamus were sitting in the middle of Hagrid's hut with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, both of them not knowing why they were there.

Apparently, neither did Hagrid. "Er, why are those two here?"

"Dahlia's part of the group," Ron said. "And I don't know why Seamus is here."

Dahlia crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not part of your group, I just happen to get caught up in your shenanigans. And I'll be damned if I get dragged off and not take my best friend with me."

Hagrid glanced at them for a second before dropping it.

They were all handed cups of strong tea by Hagrid, who then sat down on one of the saggy couches, next to his dog, Fang.

Ron turned to Harry. "It was Snape. Hermione, Dahlia, and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

"Exactly what I'm wondering," Dahlia said, leaning back in her chair and sipping at her tea.

"I found something out about him," Harry said. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped his teapot.

" _You_ think he's trying to steal whatever it's guarding," Dahlia told them. " _I_ think that we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle."

"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

"Wait, there's a three-headed dog in Hogwarts?" Seamus asked, paling.

Dahlia nodded. "In the locked corridor on the third floor."

"Fluffy?" Harry asked.

"Yeah--he's mine," Hagrid said. "Bought him off a Greek chappie I met in a pub las' year--I leant him to Dumbledore to guard the--"

He cut himself off.

"Yes?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore. That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it."

"Rubbish," he said again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothing of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" Hermione asked.

Dahlia groaned. "Not you, too!"

"I know a jinx when I see one, Dahlia," she told the Slytherin girl, "I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, we both saw him!"

"Maybe he was casting a counter-jinx," Seamus said. "You need to keep eye contact during them, too."

"Finally," Dahlia said, "someone with some sense."

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid told Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all five of yeh--yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel--"

"Aha!" Harry said. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

"He just said so," Dahlia told him.

"Why're you being so rude?" Ron asked.

"You literally dragged me here, Weasley, I get to be rude."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a couple months. Sorry for that. But I've come back to the fic and I'm going to be updating this once a day for a week, as I have already written the entirety of the first book, and I'm going to be working on book 2 now. Can't wait for you guys to meet Eula! I love her.

Weeks passed, and Dahlia wasn't sure if she wanted to stay at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays or not. She had asked Seamus if he was staying, and he said he was going home before asking her what she was doing. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to the Slytherin table to have breakfast.

There was a full moon during the Christmas holidays, and she didn't want to be subjected to the bloodlust she had before she came to Hogwarts and didn't have the Wolfsbane Potion. But if she stayed, she would miss her family, and she'd have no one to talk to as Seamus wasn't going to be there.

Well, she could talk to Ron and Harry, who were staying but they hadn't really spoken despite scouring the library for any mention of Nicolas Flamel. Seamus was the only one that heeded Hagrid's warning, and didn't question anything about the three-headed dog Fluffy that was guarding something from someone.

She ultimately decided to stay, as she could always owl her parents and younger siblings, and Ayden chose to stay as well so she wasn't alone. She had thanked him, and then gone to her first class of the day, Charms.

On the day before the students left, she had hugged Seamus hard, telling him that she'd miss him.

"It's two weeks, Dee," Ayden who was with them, told her, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, but he's my best friend."

He only smirked at her, and let her hug her best friend again.

During the holidays, she really only had Ayden to hang around, as Harry and Ron forgot all about searching for Nicolas Flamel and decided to spend all their time gorging themselves in the corridors, as they were in two different houses, but Dahlia didn't want to sit around all day eating sweets and sugary goods. She ended up roaming the halls by herself, bumping into Percy once, and they ended up having a nice talk about what Dahlia would be doing in Potions in later years.

On Christmas morning, she woke up before the sun came up, and quickly pulled on a thick jumper, pants and boots, and wrapped her Slytherin scarf around her neck before making her daily trek to the Astronomy Tower and watched the sunrise from there. Professor Sinistra handed her a hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it as the sun started peaking over the horizon, sipping her own cup of cocoa.

The Astronomy Professor had caught her sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower two weeks into term, and had asked her what she was doing there. Dahlia had told her that she used to watch the sunrise at home very morning, and that she wanted to keep doing it at Hogwarts. Professor Sinistra had then approved of her going up there every morning, and even joined her sometimes, just like now, though the hot chocolate was new.

After the sun was sitting low on the horizon, Dahlia went back down to the Slytherin Common Room to do some reading. Ron was sitting by the fireplace, a wrapped package in his hands. He looked over at her as she approached, and smiled.

"Hey," he said. "Where have you been?"

"Watching the sunrise in the Astronomy Tower," she told him. "Why?"

He held out the package for her as she approached, and she took it as she sank into the high-backed chair next to his. "Merry Christmas, Dahlia. Mum got it for you, but she said to give it to you myself."

She unwrapped the package, and she found home-cooked brownies as well as a knitted sweater. She held it up and saw it was a deep blue with a bronze 'D' on the front, and was just her size. She pulled it on, instantly feeling warmer on the cold winter's day.

"Thank you, Ron," she said. "I got you something, too."

She stood up and headed into her room. Presents were sitting at the base of her bed, but she ignored them for the moment and grabbed the present that was sitting on the nightstand and headed back out. She threw it on Ron's lap and sat back down in the chair next to his.

He opened it, and took out a bunch of sweets Ayden had bought for her from Hogsmeade, and two books, one called 'Quidditch Through the Ages' and the other 'Chudley Cannons: Behind the Team'. He thanked her, and headed out to see Harry. Dahlia went back into her room and started opening her presents.

She got a bunch of Potions books from her parents and Hermione, as well as some other books as well. Conrad and Mallory had sent her some Potions supplies, so she could actually practice her Potions outside of the classroom, which she was excited to do. She was thinking about what she could make with the new ingredients as she opened Seamus's present, which ended up being a Muggle Joke Book. She grinned as she thought about the book of explosions she had sent him, and set it on her dresser.

She made her way upstairs and skipped into the Great Hall. It was almost empty as she made her way to the Slytherin table. There were a couple people sitting at the table, but it was mostly empty, and there was one other first-year at the table, though she didn't pay her any mind. She sat down and reached for the plate of pancakes and the sugar.

"Hey, Dahlia!"

Dahlia looked up to see Fred and George waving at her from the Gryffindor table. Fred motioned for her to join them. Smiling, she placed the pancake back on its pile and stood up. She made her way to the Gryffindor table, all the Weasley's wearing a sweater knitted by their mother, and sat down next to Harry, who was also wearing a Weasley sweater. Ron's sweater, which was typically maroon, despite the boy's hatred for the colour, was a bright green, with a silver 'R' in the centre. Ayden was also sitting with them, talking to Percy about the responsibilities of being Prefect.

They joked around while they are, and afterwards the twins let her join in on their pranks. They launched snowballs at Professor Quirrell's turban, put itching powder in Percy's clothes, and Dahlia even snuck into the Potions classroom and stuck a flower in every empty vial.

That night was the Christmas feast, and she decided to sit at the Gryffindor table so that she wasn't alone. She wore the Weasley sweater and piled Yorkshire pudding after Yorkshire pudding, absolutely in love with the pastry. She laughed and chatted with the Weasleys, Harry, and Ayden, gorging herself on roast lamb and then on dessert. She cracked crackers, deciding to give her non-explodable balloons to Seamus when he came back to see if he could make them explode, and joined them in a furious snowball fight afterwards before retiring to the Common Room.

All in all, it was one of the best Christmases she'd ever had.

The next morning, while sitting at the Gryffindor table again, Harry quietly told her and Ron about what he had done the night before.

She didn't really believe him. "You saw your dead parents in a mirror that you found after browsing the Restricted Section of the library?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to the restricted section?" Ron whined.

"It was a spur of the moment thing. You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror," Harry said. "Both of you."

"I'd like to see your mum and dad," Ron said eagerly.

"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone," Harry said. "I'd like to see yours, too."

"It's the same family, remember," Dahlia said. "We're cousins."

Harry nodded. "Right, yeah."

"You can see our family any old time," Ron said. "Just come round my house this summer, Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"

* * *

That night, Dahlia and Ron met Harry outside the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry was already underneath his invisibility cloak, and after a bit of maneuvering, the three of them fir underneath.

It took Harry about an hour to find the room again, and when he did he ripped the cloak off before running towards a mirror in the centre of the room. They neared it.

"See?" he asked, barely a whisper.

Ron peered in. "I can't see anything."

"Look! Look at them all... there are loads of them..."

"I can only see you."

Harry looked at Dahlia, who agreed. She could only see Harry and Ron in the mirror.

"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."

He moved to the side, and Ron took his spot. Dahlia couldn't see anything, so she stepped out of the way of the mirror, too.

Ron was transfixed on his image. "Look at me!"

"Can you see all your family standing around you?"

"No," he said. "I'm alone--but I'm different--I look older--and I'm Head Boy!"

"What?"Harry and Dahlia asked at the same time.

"I am--I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to--and I'm holding the House Cup and Quidditch Cup--I'm Quidditch Captain, too."

Dahlia pushed Ron out of the way, wanting to know if it was different for her.

It was. She was a alone, though she wasn't wearing her pyjamas--instead, she was wearing a tank top and shorts, her arms and legs bare, which she would never do because of the scars that littered them. And then she realised--there were no scars. Not tracing her arms, or trailing down her legs. It was just her, with bare skin, and a smile on her face.

In the mirror, she wasn't a werewolf.

"What do you see?" Harry asked her.

She continued staring at her image. "Uh, I'm Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"Do you think this mirror shows the future?" Ron asked, wonder in his voice.

"How can it?" Harry asked, sadness in his voice. "All my family are dead--let me have another look--"

"You had it to yourself all last night," Dahlia said, staying her ground. "Give me a bit more time."

"You're a Quidditch Captain, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents--"

"Don't push me--"

"I want another look--"

A sudden noise in the corridor made them all silent. They hadn't realised how loud they were bing.

"Quick!"

Ron threw the invisibility cloak over them as Mrs Norris came into the room, who stood there for a couple minutes before leaving.

"She might've gone to get Filch," Dahlia said. "Come on, we have to go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to say this last chapter but if you're an old reader coming back you might want to reread the entire fic because we took out two minor characters that weren't relevant to the story. If this is your first time in the fic, then please continue. This does not concern you.

"Seamus!"

The Gryffindor boy looked panicked and let out a yelp as Dahlia launched herself at him as he entered the Great Hall in time for dinner. She hadn't been able to go to Hogsmeade and see him off the train there, so she had resigned herself to ambushing him when he got back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in a tight hug. Seamus hugged her back just as tightly.

"I missed you so much."

Ayden, who had been waiting for Seamus with her, rolled his eyes. "It's been two weeks."

"The longest two weeks of my life," Dahlia said, still hugging Seamus.

After Ayden managed to pry his little sister off her best friend, said best friend had punched her in the arm for sending him a book about fireworks. Ayden let out a chuckle, and left for his House table.

The next couple months went by relatively fast. Dahlia dragged Seamus to the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch game the third week of February, making sure to adorn the both of them with Slytherin colours to annoy Ayden. Seamus looked a bit annoyed, too, but he was happy to wave a green and silver flag for his best friend, as long as she waved a red and gold one at the next Gryffindor match.

Later that night Dean called him a traitor. She was reminded of their first day at Hogwarts.

On the day of the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match at the beginning of March, though drowning in Gryffindor scarves and flags and other things red and gold, Dahlia was on edge. Throughout the past two months, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had catching her up on their progress on finding Nicolas Flamel. They figured out he was a six-hundred and sixty-five year old man that was the creator of something called the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that could turn metal into gold and give its user immortality, and they figured that was what Professor Snape was trying to get from Professor Dumbledore (though Dahlia still believed the man innocent).

Professor Snape was also going to be refereeing the game, so she, Hermione, and Ron brought their wands to the stands with them.

At the stands, they found a spot next to Neville. Dahlia felt strange wearing red and gold, but she wasn't one to go back on a deal. Neville gave her a strange look at the three scarves she was wearing as well as the red and gold streamers that were tying her hair up in two small pigtails. She told him not to ask.

Beside her, Seamus was jumping in excitement, binoculars in hand, ready to watch the game. He had told her to keep him out of whatever shenanigans she was being pulled into by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as he didn't want to be pulled in either, and had no idea of the "threat" in the stand next to theirs.

"Don't forget," Hermione told Dahlia and Ron, "it's  _ Locomotor Mortis _ ."

"We know," Ron said. "Don't nag."

They had been practicing the Leg-Locker Curse, Hermione getting the idea from when Draco had cursed Neville with it a couple weeks earlier. Dahlia, who was getting behind on homework because of her missing class for a full day every month, was starting to get stressed with the extra lesson Hermione gave them afternoon.

"Hey, Dumbledore's here!" Seamus said grinning, his binoculars held up to his eyes. "I wonder why."

"At least we know why Snape's pissed," Ron said. "I've never seen him look so mean. Look, they're off--Ouch!"

Dahlia looked over to see Draco had poked Ron in the back of his head, and was suddenly aware of the amount of Gryffindor things she was wearing.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there," Draco said, grinning. He obviously hadn't seen Dahlia yet, as he wasn't yelling about how she was a traitor to the House, like he did every in the Common Room for being friends with Gryffindors. "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn't answer; Professor Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because one of the Weasley twins had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch. Dahlia just wanted to watch the game in peace with her best friend.

A couple minutes later, after Hufflepuff got another penalty for no reason, Draco said, "You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team? It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money--you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains. And you might as well transfer to Gryffindor and be on their team, Oakwood, as you have no loyalty."

Dahlia gave him a look as Neville turned bright red, and Seamus looked like he was about to punch Draco in the face.

"I'm worth twelve of you," Neville stammered.

Draco and his two goons laughed, but Ron said to Neville, his eyes still on the game, "You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

"I'm warning you, Malfoy--one more word--"

"Ron!" Hermione cried out, "Harry--"

"What? Where?"

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked towards the ground like a bullet.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" Draco said.

Ron snapped. He leaped at Draco, fist raised, and tackled him to the ground. After a second of hesitation, Neville jumped in to help. Being the good friend she was, and angry that he had taunted her cousin, Dahlia jumped in too, punching Crabbe straight on the temple. Hermione and Seamus didn't notice, too fixed on the game.

And they were too fixed on each other that they didn't hear Seamus and Hermione scream at the top of their lungs that Harry caught the Snitch, and Gryffindor won.

That night at dinner, after heading to the Hospital Wing for the broken nose Goyle had given her, she sat down at the Slytherin table, happily chomping on a Yorkshire pudding as Draco and his goons glared at her from the other end, obviously not liking the fact that she was happy. Ron sneered down at his good as he ate.

After dinner, on their way to the Slytherin Common Room, Harry and Hermione got their attention and pulled them into an empty room.

"Oh, what is it now?" Dahlia asked, crossing her arms.

"So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it," Harry said. "He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy--and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus'--I reckon there are other things guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through--"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione asked.

"It'll be gone by Tuesday," Ron said.

"You guys do realise how stupid that sounds, right?" Dahlia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, it's possible there's more than Fluffy guarding the Stone--that's most likely true, actually. But you heard the back end of a conversation. Professor Snape could've been interrogating Professor Quirrell. Maybe Professor Quirrell is the one trying to get the Stone. If I recall correctly, Professor Quirrell was  _ also _ staring at Harry without blinking."

"That's dumb," Ron told her.

"But just as plausible a theory as it being Professor Snape," she told him. "If you're right, and he's the one trying to get the Stone, he would've been the one to break into the Gringotts vault it was being housed in the day Harry was getting his supplies last year. Did you see Professor Snape in Diagon Alley?"

Harry thought for a moment, shaking his head. "No. But..." he sighed, "I did see Quirrell. At the Leaky Cauldron."

Ron looked at the both of them like they were insane. "You two are crazy."

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch game, and as every day passed, Dahlia believed in her theory more and more. Professor Quirrell began looking paler and paler as time went on, but Professor Snape was just as grumpy as ever, so either one of them could be the culprit.

But the exams were approaching, and everyone in the castle was getting exam fever. Hermione had helped Dahlia make a study schedule, focusing on her weaknesses, which were Herbology and Astronomy. She stopped spending time with Harry, Ron, and Hermione to study in the library with Seamus and some of his friends, though it had been a while since she and Briar had spoken. They had drifted apart, and he spent most of his time with either Dean or Royce Arthur-Hoddle, another Slytherin first-year.

The teachers also got exam fever. They were piling homework onto them, preparing them for the exams, and Dahlia was staying up late in the library trying to finish it all. The dates were starting to blur together, though Seamus did borrow one of her Slytherin scarfs on Saint Patrick's Day, which also happened to be a full moon, as well.

Several weeks into the studying craze, the sky finally clear aftera freezing winter, Dahlia was sitting in the library like she usually was, copying down everything in her Transfigurations book. Seamus was sitting across from her, struggling to keep his eyes open. They'd had a late night the night before, heading to their dorms a couple hours after curfew trying to finish all their History of Magic homework.

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Dahlia looked up to see Hagrid was, indeed, in the library, and that it had been Ron that asked the question. He was hiding something behind his back, and she knew that whatever was about to happen, she was going to get dragged into it.

"Jus' lookin'," he said. "An' what're you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he was ages ago," Ron told him. "And we know what that' dog's guarding, it's the Philosopher's Sto--"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid interrupted, then looked around to see if anyone was listening. He saw Dahlia on the next table over and grumbled lowly. "Don't go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Harry said, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy--"

"SHHHH!" said again. "Listen--come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don't go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren't s'pposed ter know. They're think I've told yeh--"

"See you later then."

"I'll be back," Dahlia told Seamus, putting her quill in its inkpot, then stood up and sat down next to Hermione.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" Harry asked.

"Doubtful," Dahlia told him.

Ron stood up. "I'm going to see what section he was in." A minutes later he came back with a pile of books in his arms. "Dragons! he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these:  _ Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide. _ "

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry said.

"But it's against our laws," Ron told him. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlock's Convention of 1709, everyone knows that."

"What?" Harry asked, confusion on his face.

"My brother Charlie tried to raise a dragon at the Burrow a couple times," Ron explained.

"It's embroidered above the family clock," Dahlia said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden--anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" Harry asked.

"Of course there are. Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our king have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So what on Earth's Hagrid up to?" Hermione asked.

"How about we find out?" Dahlia asked. "Go down to his hut in half an hour? I need to put my stuff away."

They agreed, and Dahlia went back to where Seamus was sitting. "Hey, sorry, something came up–"

"I heard everything," Seamus said, smiling at her. "Go on, I need to finish this Potions essay anyway."

She collected her things. "If you need any help, any at all, just come down to the hut. I'll try and come back afterwards, as well."

He nodded, and she left the library.


	12. Chapter 12

Half an hour later, the four of them were outside Hagrid's hut. Dahlia had only been there once, but she found it strange that the curtains were closed in the middle of the day. They knocked on the door, and Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before he let them in, then shut the door quickly behind him.

It was like the inside of a furnace. The fire in the grate made the warm day hot, and Dahlia even took her light jacket off and draped it over one of the couches. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So--yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned. "O' course I can't. Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts--I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

Really, it was because of Draco. If he hadn't challenged Harry to a duel, Dahlia wouldn't have gone to tell Harry it was a trap, and it wouldn't have failed and she wouldn't have gone with them. Then Filch wouldn't have caught them, they wouldn't've run, they wouldn't've run into Peeves, and Peeves wouldn't have yelled for Filch. If that didn't happen, they wouldn't have run for the corridor, and Hermione wouldn't have opened it with a spell, and they wouldn't've entered. And she was tempted to tell Hagrid that when Hermione spoke.

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on around here." Hagrid's beard twitched as he started smiling. "We only wondered why had done the guarding, really. We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid actually seemed touched at her words, and Dahlia gave Hermione an approving look.

"Well, I don't s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout--Professor Flitwick--Professor McGonagall--" he started ticking them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell--an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Hah!" Dahlia said, standing up and pointing at Ron. "I told you!"

"Quirrell also helped," he told her.

She stared at him for a second before she sat back down.

"Yer not still on abou' that, are yeh?" Hagrid asked. "Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it. An' what's this abou' Quirrell?"

Dahlia sighed deeply. "Nevermind."

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry asked nervously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul know except me an' Dumbledore," Hagrid said.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

Dahlia was, too. She'd already sweated through her shirt.

"Can't, Harry, sorry," Hagrid said, glancing at the fire.

"Hagrid--what's that?"

Dahlia had a feeling she already knew what it was. One peer into it confirmed her suspicions--there, under the kettle, was a large black egg.

"Ah," Hagrid said, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron asked, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," Hagrid said. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Dahlia asked.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," he said, pulling a large book out from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library-- _ Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit _ \--it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on them, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here--how ter recognise diff'rent eggs--what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very please with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"You live in a wooden house."

He ignored her.

It was a week later the egg hatched.

Pulling Seamus down to the hut with her, Dahlia followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they ran from the Herbology greenhouses as soon as class ended.

Hagrid was waiting outside the hut, ushering them in. He sent a confused look to Seamus as he entered behind Dahlia, but decided not to say anything about it. "It's nearly out."

The egg was lying on the table, deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking sound was coming from it. They all pulled chairs up to the edge of the table and watched with bated breath.

"I can't believe we're actually watching a dragon hatch," Seamus said, grinning.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It was jet black, the same colour as the egg, its spiny wings at least three times bigger than its tiny body.

Seamus and Dahlia were staring at it in wonder. "I can see why Charlie wanted a dragon at your house," Dahlia told Ron.

It sneezed, orange sparks flying out of its nose.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid asked, tears in his eyes. He reached over to stroke his head, the dragon snapping at him. "Bless him, look, he knoews his mummy!"

"Hagrid," Hermione said, "how fact do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

He opened his mouth to answer her when the colour drained from his face, and he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?" Seamus asked, his eyes fixed on the dragon.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains--it's a kid--he's running back up ter the school."

Harry bolted to the door. "It's Malfoy."

* * *

A week passed, and Dahlia glared at Draco whenever he could, hoping her glare could change his mind on telling Professor Dumbledore about the dragon Hagrid was illegally keeping in his very wooden hut, but she doubted she could. Every day, the five of them went down to Hagrid's hut to convince him to let the dragon go. Dahlia even left the Hospital Wing earlier than she should have after the full moon to convince him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."

"I can't," Harry said. "He's too little. He'd die."

The dragon had ground three times what it used to be in just a week. Dahlia knew dragons grew quickly, but she didn't know it was that quickly.

I've decided to call him Norbert," he said. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered.

"Hagrid," Dahlia said loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Draco could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip. "I--I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Harry suddenly turned to Ron. "Charlie."

"You're losing it too," Ron told him. "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No--Charlie--your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant! How about it, Hagrid?"

In the end, he agreed, and Ron went off to send an owl to his brother in Romania.

Another week passed, exams getting closer and closer, and Dahlia was informed that Harry and Ron were going to smuggle Norbert into the Astronomy Tower Saturday night. Dahlia was just glad she wasn't part of their scheme, and doubled-down on her studying.

Unfortunately, though, things don't go smoothly when Harry's involved. Norbert had bit Ron's finger, and halfway through the next day it had festered and swelled up, and Dahlia had to take him to the Hospital Wing in between classes. At the end of the day, she visited him with Harry and Hermione.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me--I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me. I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione told him reassuringly.

His eyes widened and he sat bolt upright. "Midnight on Saturday! Oh no oh no--I've just remembered--Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

They didn't get a chance to say anything, as Madam Pomfrey came over and kicked them out.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione and Dahlia. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we've got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

"I'll try and stall Draco as long as I can," Dahlia said.

They went to tell Hagrid about the change in plan and found his boarhound, Fang, outside the hut with his tail bandaged up. Hagrid opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," he said. "Norbert's at a tricky stage--nothin' I can't handle."

They told him about what happened to Charlie's letter, and then Norbert bit him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, he only got the boot--jus' playin'--he's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged its tail into the wall, making the windows rattle. The three of them went back to the castle, finding Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

It was a dark and cloudy Saturday night, and Dahlia stayed up in the Common Room waiting for Draco to appear, finishing her History of Magic homework and watching the occasional monster that dwelled in the Black Lake drift passed the large window.

Draco came into the Common Room as she finished an essay on one of the many goblin wars. She stood up, calling his name, moving to stand in front of the door leading out.

"Move, Oakwood."

She crossed her arms. "No."

"I know you're helping them," he said.

"I know. I'm not hiding it."

He glared at her. "What are you even doing?"

"Stopping you from getting my friends in trouble."

"Why? They have a  _ dragon _ . That's  _ illegal _ ."

"Which is why they're getting him to Romania," she told him.

He stared at her, not saying anything. After a minute of silence, he said, "I just want to make sure the dragon leaves. Why do you think I haven't told Professor Dumbledore yet? I'm not an asshole."

"Yes you are," she said. "But... fine. But if I hear anything about you trying to get them in trouble, I'm going to hex you. And then punch you in your snide little face."

She stepped out of the way, and Draco rushed out of the Common Room.

Dahlia just sighed, gathered up her things, and went to bed.


End file.
